Spanish: Braised Basque Short Ribs

Recipe by Paul Young <info@cooking-with-paul.com>

(serves 3)

Ingredients:

• Salt and pepper to taste
• 2 tablespoon olive oil
• 3 pounds beef short ribs
• 2 cups
• 1 tablespoon garlic powder
• 1 tablespoon onion powder
• 1 medium yellow onion, diced
• 1 medium carrot, peeled and diced
• 1 small red bell pepper, diced
• 12 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tablespoon smoked paprika
• 1 cup red wine (Beaujolais or Zinfadel preferred)
• 7 oz petite diced tomatoes (½ can)
• ½ cup pitted Kalamata olives, halved
• 2 teaspoons beef base
• 1 tablespoon (approximate) tomato paste (or sub 1-2 tablespoons unsalted mashed potato flakes)
• 1-2 teaspoons Kitchen Bouquet (approximate)
• Fresh parsley leaves, chopped (optional)

Procedure:

1. Season the beef ribs with salt and pepper
2. Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a large skillet and brown the ribs well on all sides
3. Transfer the ribs to a pressure cooker
4. Deglace the skillet with water and pour seasoned liquid into pressure cooker
5. Add garlic powder and onion powder
6. Cook ribs under pressure for 45 minutes (or until meat almost falls off the bone)
7. Remove the meat, let cool; cut ribs into serving sizes (1 bone per serving)
8. Transfer broth to a tall glass jar; separate as much grease as possible from the stock and set aside (or: refrigerate overnight and remove the solidified grease)
9. Make the sauce: saute the onions in a pot with in a little grease from the stock
10. When the onions are transparent, add the carrots, peppers, garlic, and paprika; cook until fragrant, about 2 minutes
11. Stir in 1 cup of stock, red wine, tomatoes, olives, beef base
12. Add the cooked ribs, bring pot to boil, then lower the heat and simmer for 20 minutes
13. Thicken stew with tomato paste (or mashed potato flakes)
14. Adjust for color by adding Kitchen Bouquet
15. Adjust seasoning to taste
16. To serve, divide the short ribs between 4 plates, ladle sauce over top, garnish with parsley, and serve with crusty French bread or Saffron Rice (see recipe)