Braised Short Ribs and Paccheri
Braising is usually on Sundays, but who cares these days. Staying at home allows us to cook low and slow, filling the home with comforting aromas. This is paccheri (which is basically rigatoni on steroids) tossed with short ribs braised for 3 hours.
Ingredients:
Extra virgin olive oil
Salt & Pepper
1/2 cup chopped pancetta or bacon
2 1/2 pounds short ribs (bone-in)
1 medium onion, roughly chopped
2 carrot, roughly chopped
2 celery stalks, roughly chopped
1/2 cup fresh parsley leaves
8 cloves garlic
1 (14-ounce) can tomatoes (diced)
6 oz. jar of tomato paste
1 teaspoon chopped fresh rosemary leaves
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon dried Italian seasoning
1 bay leaf
2 1/2 cups beef broth
3/4 cup red wine
1 pound of paccheri pasta (or any hearty pasta you have — don’t use Angel Hair)
Steps
Put enough olive oil in a large dutch oven to coat the bottom over medium heat. Cook the pancetta/bacon until crisp. While that’s cooking, season the short ribs with salt and pepper. Remove the pancetta from the pan and set aside. Add the short ribs to the pan and brown on all sides, about 10 minutes.
Meanwhile, combine the onion, carrot, celery, and garlic in a food processor and blend until finely chopped. Then add the tomatoes and tomato paste and pulse.
Once the short ribs are browned, add the mixture from the food processor to the pot. Return the pancetta/bacon to the pot along with the rosemary, thyme, Italian seasoning, bay leaf, beef broth, and wine. Bring the mixture to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer, covered, for 1 hour and 30 minutes. Remove the lid and simmer for another 1 hour and 30 minutes, occasionally stirring and skimming off excess fat (a little is good though — that’s flava). Remove the meat and bones from the pot. Toss the bones or give it to your dog to eat. Shred the meat and return it to the pot. Season with salt and pepper pepper to your liking..
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the pasta and cook until just shy of al dente since the pasta will finish cooking in the sauce. Drain the pasta, reserving 1 cup of the cooking liquid just in case. Add the pasta to the pot and stir to combine. Add the reserved pasta liquid 1/4 cup at a time, if it needs to be thinned out.
Top with chopped parsley and parmesan.
