Red Wine Braised Short Ribs of Beef

Braised Short Ribs

A surprisingly delicious beef stew was unearthed from the Bon Appetit website. I bought a kilo of meaty beef ribs (short ribs) in the Birmingham market a few weeks ago and was looking for a recipe to make a tasty dish out of it. And I was not the least disappointed. The things that made it standout are the bones, which gave extra flavour, the garlic (surprising I know) and the excellent red wine I got in our pantry.

This is great with rice, mash potatoes, or just boiled new potatoes with steamed veggies on the side. I only cooked half of the recipe so I adjusted it accordingly.



Red Wine Braised Short Ribs of Beef

1 kg  bone-in beef short ribs, cut crosswise into 2-inch pieces
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 Tbsp vegetable oil
1 large onion - chopped
1 large carrot - peeled, chopped
1 celery stalk - chopped
1 1/2 Tbsp plain flour
2 tsp double-concentrated tomato puree (tomato paste)
375 ml  [half a bottle] dry red wine (preferably Cabernet Sauvignon)
5 sprigs flat-leaf parsley
4 sprigs thyme
2 sprigs oregano
1 sprig rosemary
1 fresh or dried bay leaves
1/2 head of garlic - halved crosswise
2 cups beef stock

  1. [Optional] Preheat oven to 180°C/fan 160°C/350°F.
  2. Season short ribs with salt and pepper.
  3. Heat oil in a large oven-proof pot over medium-high. Brown short ribs on all sides in batches, about 8 minutes per batch. Transfer short ribs to a plate. Pour off all but 2 Tbsp. drippings from the pot.
  4. Saute onions, carrots, and celery in the same pot and cook over medium heat. Stir often, until onions are browned and tranlucent, about 5 minutes.
  5. Add flour and tomato paste. Stirr constantly, until well combined and deep red, about 2-3 minutes.
  6. Stir in wine, then add short ribs with all of its juices. Bring to a boil; lower heat to medium and simmer uncovered until wine is reduced by half, about 20 minutes.
  7. Add all herbs including the garlic. Stir in stock. Bring to a boil, cover, and transfer to oven. Cook until tender for about 2-2.5 hours.
    OR
    Cook on the hob in very low heat until short ribs are tender, about 1.5 hours.
  8. Transfer short ribs to a platter. Strain sauce from pot into a measuring cup. Spoon fat from surface of sauce and discard.
  9. Season sauce to taste with salt and pepper. Serve in shallow bowls over mashed potatoes or boiled new potatoes with sauce spooned over.

Braised Short Ribs

Spaghetti and Meatballs

Date & Apple Bars
We love pasta and we love meatballs, too. We already got a tried and tested spaghetti meatballs recipe but it doesn't stop us to be always on the lookout for any decent meatballs recipe out there in the world. So it's normal that we try out this much vaunted recipe from the Epicurious website that's got a very high review rating from readers. They were right! Only a few adjustments in the recipe and it's all thumbs up from the whole family. The recipe is humongous. Probably enough to feed a horde people for a party. So I promptly halved and reduced volume and spice proportions and it scaled down well.


Spaghetti and Meatballs

*For the meatballs:

750 g  minced beef
250 g  minced pork
1 1/2 cups torn day-old Italian bread (or any white bread)
1 cup whole milk
1 medium onion - chopped
2 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
5 garlic cloves - finely chopped
3 large eggs
60 g  [about 1 cup] parmesan cheese - grated
3 Tbsp finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
2 Tbsp finely chopped fresh oregano (or 1/2 tsp dried)
1/2 Tbsp grated lemon zest
2 1/2 tsp fine sea salt
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
1/2 cup vegetable oil (for frying)


*For the tomato sauce:

6 x 400 g  cans of chopped or plum tomatoes
1 medium onion - chopped
3 garlic cloves - finely chopped
3 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
2 tsp fine sea salt
1/2 tsp ground black pepper

1 kg  dried spaghetti


*To make tomato sauce:
  1. In a large pot, heat the olive oil and cook the onions in medium heat until soft - about 5 minutes.
  2. Add the garlic and cook until softened - about a further 2 minutes.
  3. Add the rest of the ingredients, bring to a boil then lower heat and simmer uncovered stirring occasionally until thickened - about 45 minutes to 1 hour.
  4. Midway through cooking, you can crush the whole tomatoes with a spatula or stick blender.

*To make meatballs:
  1. Fry the onions in a wide frying pan on medium heat. Cook until softened while stirring occasionally - about 5 minutes.
  2. Add garlic and cook while stirring occasionally until fragrant and softened - about 2-3 minutes. Transfer to a bowl and cool completely.
  3. Soak bread in milk for about 20 minutes or until soft. Squeeze the bread firmly to remove excess milk. Discard excess milk.
  4. In a large bowl, combine all the ingredients except for the vegetable oil. Mix with your hands just until combined - do not overmx.
  5. Form into balls about 28 g (1 oz) in weight or about 1 1/2-inch in diameter.
  6. Heat vegetable oil in the same pan used with the onion and fry the meatballs in batches without crowding until browned all over - about 5 minutes each batch.
  7. Add fried meatballs into the tomato sauce and simmer for about 30 minutes.
  • Cook spaghetti according to instructions in the packet.
  • Serve spaghetti with meatballs and sauce with the optional grated parmesan cheese on top.

Swedish Meatballs

Swedish Meatballs
Meatballs are much appreciated in our family. Although mainly in the spaghetti meatballs type, we also like Swedish meatballs which we often buy in the local Ikea whenever we have a chance to lumber around there. But this is the first time I have created these from scratch. Really it's very similar to the other meatballs I've done before but the main difference is in the cooked chopped onions and allspice in it. Actually, the allspice is very very important otherwise you won't have that smell and taste typical to Swedish meatballs. Alton Brown provided me with a great recipe that I adapted. And although the kids didn't like the white gravy I still think all of it is great tasting. I adjusted the recipe to cater for 1 kg of meat since almost all the minced pork or beef packets sold here are in 500 g sizes.


Swedish Meatballs

2-1/2 slices of white bread (or 2/3 cup breadcrumbs)
1/3 cup milk
4 Tbsp melted butter
2/3 cup finely chopped onions
1-1/2 tsp fine sea salt + a pinch
500 g  minced pork
500 g  minced beef
2 large eggs
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/3 tsp ground allspice
1/4 tsp grated nutmeg

*Gravy
1/4 cup plain flour
3 cups beef stock
1/4 cup double cream
  1. Tear the white bread into pieces into a bowl. Add in the milk and leave to soak for about 30 minutes or until soft.
  2. In a 12-inch high-sided skillet, heat the 1-1/2 Tbsp of the butter and saute the minced onions. Sprinkle a pinch of the salt and cook until soft. Remove into a bowl or dish and let cool.
  3. Mash the soaked bread then add the rest of the ingredients. Combine until well mixed.
  4. Form into 1-1/4 inch balls (28 g/1 oz).
  5. Fry in the same skillet used for the onion using the rest of the melted butter in medium to low heat. Cook until golden brown on all sides (about 7-10 minutes). Do not crowd them too much; if need be fry in batches in which case you may have to add more butter.
  6. After frying, put the meatballs in a preheated 95°C/fan 75°C/200F oven to keep warm while making the gravy.
*For the gravy:
  1. You should have about 1 Tbsp of melted butter left in the skillet used for frying the meatballs. Decrease the heat to low and sprinkle the flour in it. Whisk until light brown - about 2 minutes.
  2. Add the beef stock gradually and simmer until thick.
  3. Stir in the double cream and cook until thick. Taste and adjust seasoning.
  4. Serve either covering the meatballs or on the side.

Swedish Meatballs

Beef Bourguignon

Beef Bourguignon
Here's one recipe that I've been doing on and off in different versions for years. And it's only now that I'm documenting it. Actually, the Daring Cooks urged me to do this for the November/December challenge. It was originally the theme all the way back on May 2012. I haven't rejoined yet at the time so I have my excuses.

Beef Bourguignon or Beef Burgundy is like most stews but the main distinction is that it has a lot of red wine while the British variety has beers in different forms (ales, bitters, porters, etc). They're all very good especially during winter when you need something hot and hearty for supper.

For this recipe I made the mistake of reducing the mushrooms. As expected they shrank in size so there wasn't as much as I would like to have. The mushrooms are great to soak up all that robust taste of the sauce so don't skimp on it. Finally, serving this with boiled or steamed potatoes, bread or even rice is great for a hearty meal.


Beef Bourguignon
(Beef Burgundy)

2-3 Tbsp olive oil
200 g  streaky bacon - chopped
1.5 kg stewing beef - cut into 1 1/2-inch cubes
1 onion - chopped
1 big carrot - chopped into big chunks
1 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup flour
1 1/2 cups beef stock
720 ml (1 big bottle) red wine (Burgundy, Bordeaux, Pinot Noir, etc.)
2 cloves garlic - minced
2 Tbsp double concentrate tomato puree (tomato paste)
1/2 tsp thyme leaves
1 bay leaf
3 Tbsp butter
300 g  small onions - peeled and kept whole
500 g  small button mushrooms
  1. In a heavy bottomed casserole pot, heat olive oil and fry bacon until brown and crispy. Remove with a slotted spoon and set aside.
  2. In the same casserole, brown the beef pieces in batches until brown all around. Add more olive oil if needed. Remove and set aside.
  3. Add in the chopped onion and cook in medium-low heat for 2 minutes.
  4. Add the carrots and saute for another 2 minutes.
  5. Return the bacon and beef in the casserole. Sprinkle with the salt, pepper, and flour and toss for a minute.
  6. Stir in the wine, tomato puree, garlic, thyme, bay leaf, and just enough stock to cover the beef. Bring to boil while scraping the browned bits at the bottom.
  7. Lower heat and simmer for 1.5 hours or until beef is tender.
    OR
    Put in an oven pre-heated at 150°C/fan 130°C/300°F and bake for 3-3.5 hours or until beef is tender.
    OR
    Cook in a slow cooker for 3-4 hours on low or 2 hours on high. (Consult your slow cooker manual for best result.)
  8. While it is stewing, melt 1 Tbsp of the butter in a frying pan and saute the peeled small onions until golden brown. Set aside.
  9. Melt 2 Tbsp of the butter in the same frying pan and saute the mushrooms until brown. Set aside.
  10. Add the sauteed onions and mushrooms about 3/4 of the way of the cooking time. Continue cooking until done.

Note: Like any stew, this is best served the day after cooking.


Family Spaghetti Bolognese

My kids are such pasta fans that we cook Italian-style spaghetti bolognese almost every week. After several years, our version of the recipe has evolved from the usual elaborate one I used to do to this most basic recipe that we use week in, week out. With this one, I just throw in whatever is available. Sometimes it's all chopped tomatoes and no passata, sometimes it's red wine or none at all, most of the time there are no chicken livers or I forget to add Worcestershire sauce. Other times there are even no carrots nor celery. It's quite versatile such that most ingredients are optional. And you can tweak it as much as you like as long as there is that mandatory ingredients of minced meat and tomatoes (of whatever form).


Spaghetti Bolognese

1 kg  minced beef (or 3/4 beef, 1/4 pork in proportion)
1 1/2 Tbsp olive oil
2 tsp minced garlic
1 large onion - finely chopped
125 g  pancetta or streaky bacon - finely diced
1/2 cup finely chopped carrots
1/2 cup finely chopped celery
1/8 tsp (pinch) dried thyme*
1 tsp dried oregano*
1 1/2 Tbsp chopped fresh or 1 tsp dried basil*
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1 bay leaf
1 cup white wine
1 cup full-fat milk
1 x 400 g  can of chopped tomatoes
500 g  passata (tomato sauce)
1 Tbsp double concentrate tomato puree (tomato paste) [optional]
2 tsp sea salt (or to taste)
freshly milled black pepper
1/2 cup beef stock or water
butter or olive oil
125 g  chicken liver - trimmed, washed and cut into 3/4-inch pieces [optional]
  1. In a pan (preferably non-stick), drizzle some olive oil and heat it up. Brown the minced meats in batches. Set aside.
  2. If using chicken liver - wipe the pan and heat up some more olive oil or butter. Cook the chicken liver until well cooked and crumbly - about 5 minutes. Transfer to a bowl, then using a fork mash it up. If need be, finely chop some of the bits of liver that refuse to get mashed.
  3. In a big stewing pot, heat the 1 1/2 Tbsp olive oil and gently fry the bacon until it changes colour.
  4. Add in the garlic and cook until aromatic.
  5. Stir in the onion and cook gently for about 4-5 minutes or until translucent.
  6. Turn up the heat to medium and add the carrots and celery. Cook for about 2 minutes, stirring occasionally.
  7. Add the spices - basil, thyme, oregano. Stir and cook for about 30 seconds.
  8. Tip in the browned minced beef and white wine. Simmer until all the wine has evaporated.
  9. Add the milk and bring to boil. Lower heat and simmer until almost all the liquid has dried up.
  10. Add the chopped tomatoes, passata, tomato puree (if using), bay leaf, nutmeg, Worcestershire sauce, chicken liver, salt, pepper, and stock.
  11. Bring to boil then bring down heat to lowest setting and simmer for *at least* 2-3 hours. The longer you simmer it the better.
  12. If you have more fresh basil lying around, chop about 2 Tbsp of it and stir in the sauce.
  13. Serve with freshly cooked al dente pasta such as spaghetti or tagliatelli.

*Note: In place of the basil, thyme, and oregano, you may use 1 Tbsp of Italian mixed herb.