SLOW COOKED SHORT RIBS IN MERLOT

Servings: 2-3 People

Ingredients:

1.5 kg short ribs of beef

1 knob of butter

1 medium onion

1 clove of garlic finely chopped

Small pinch of cinnamon

Tablespoon of fresh/dried thyme

Tablespoon of tomato purée

2 carrots

1 jerusalem artichoke/sweet potato or 2 parsnips

Half a bottle of Merlot (or Pinot Noir, Sangiovese or anything young & fruity!)

1 pint of beef stock - homemade or if bought, we prefer Bovril

White crusty bread

Handful of parsley

Method:

Preheat the oven to 160C.

Roughly trim the fat from the ribs and chop them in between each bone. Heat a large pan (big Le Creuset casserole one is ideal) and brown them for a few minutes. No need to add butter/oil to the pain - there is no doubt still a bit of fat on them. Then set the meat aside and season with salt, pepper and the tiniest ever pinch of cinnamon. Do not go overboard on the cinnamon or the whole thing ends up tasting of apple pie.

Without cleaning the pan, cook the onions and garlic until soft, adding a little knob of butter if required. Then return the meat to the pan along with the peeled and chopped root vegetables, tomato purée, thyme, wine and stock. Ensure all the contents are well covered with liquid, so add more hot water if required, then bring to the boil. Once boiling, transfer to the oven and cook for 3 hours with the lid on, or until the meat is tender and falls off the bone.

If there is a fatty layer on top when it is done, you can remove this by laying a sheet of kitchen paper on top and letting it absorb the fat. Repeat this until the shine has gone. We used 5 sheets.

Heat some white crusty bread in the oven and dip hunks of it into the juices. Put your feet up and pour yourself a glass of what remains of the Merlot....

Credits: Mango Menus