Snow Days to Braise

The city is filled with snow so it is the perfect time for some Braise Days. Doesn't that make you hungry?!

Try these Braised Beef Short Ribs with Parsnip Puree that I learned in Cooking 101 at L'Academie de Cuisine. I prefer to braise in my Le Creuset Braiser so I can start by browning the meat on the stove top and finish it in the oven. There is nothing like watching the meat fall off the bone and enjoying the amazing tenderness.

Braised Beef Short Ribs

2- 3 pounds of Beef short ribs

3-4 cups Mirepoix (carrots, onion, celery)

Garlic

Tomato paste

Herbs (thyme, rosemary, bay, black pepper)

Beef stock

Red wine

Salt and pepper

Season the short ribs with salt and pepper. Sear the short ribs in clarified butter or olive oil until well browned. Remove from the pan. Add a little olive oil and saute the vegetables until they start to soften and take on some color. Add the tomato paste and cook down briefly. Add some wine to deglaze the pan and scrape up the all of the tasty bits. Add the ribs back to the pan and add enough beef stock to bring up the volume of liquid to about halfway up the short ribs. Bring to a boil, cover, and put in a 300°F oven. * You could also transfer everything to a slow cooker at this point and let it slow cook for 3-5 hours on high hear first and lower it to low heat about 2 hours in. Braise the short ribs for 3-4 hours, until they are tender and the meat falls off the bone. Remove the short ribs and set aside. Pass the remaining sauce through a strainer into another saucepan. Continue to reduce the sauce for 5-10 minutes. Serve the ribs over the Parsnip Puree and drizzle the sauce on top.

Parsnip Puree

Ingredients

1 yellow onion, diced

5-6 cups parsnip, peeled and diced

Butter

Chicken Stock

Cream

Salt

Method

Add 4 tablespoons of butter to a large pot and sweat onions on a low-medium heat. Meanwhile, dice the parsnips into small pieces and add to the pot. Add the chicken stock until it barely covers the vegetables. Season the ingredients conservatively with salt. Cover and bring to a simmer. Cook until the parsnips are soft. Uncover and reduce liquid until dry. Once dry, move the mixture to the blender and puree starting on a low speed. There is no starch in parsnips so you can blend as much as you want. Add salt, another few tablespoons of butter and cream to the blender. Add enough cream to get it to the consistency that you like. It should look like mashed potatoes.

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