Dinner Menu: Braised Short Ribs, Parmesan Polenta, and Broccoli Rabe

On a recent frigid night in March (why do I live in the Northeast?), I was desperately craving something warm and comforting for dinner.  A hearty beef stew came first to my mind, but I wanted to flesh it out with extra veggies.  Polenta was an instinctive addition because it pairs so heavenly with beef, but egg noodles or rice would work as well.  I chose broccoli rabe because the bitterness balances out the plain flavor of the polenta.  The short ribs turned out so soft that a knife was totally unnecessary.


6 slices pancetta
3 pounds bone-in short ribs
1/4 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
3 carrots
2 onions
6 cloves garlic
1 tablespoon tomato paste
2 cups red wine
2 cups beef broth
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1 bay leaf

Roughly dice the pancetta slices.  Pancetta is basically unsmoked bacon.

In a large Dutch oven, cook the pancetta over medium heat until all the fat renders out.  That's liquid gold.

While the pancetta is frying, trim away the thick layer of fat that lies over the short ribs and discard.  Also trim the connective tissue on either side of the bone and discard.  You can make this recipe with boneless short ribs, but I firmly believe that the bones give the braise special flavor and texture.  It's the gelatin.

Sprinkle generously with kosher salt and coarsely-ground black pepper.  Aww, look at the cuties!

Remove the pancetta when it's golden brown and drain on some paper towels.

Coat the short ribs in a thin layer of flour.  Don't dredge the short ribs until you're ready to cook them or the moisture from the ribs will soak into the flour and make a weird paste.

On medium-high heat, add the short ribs.  Cook for a minute or so per side until a golden brown crust forms on all surfaces.  If you're running out of pancetta fat, supplement with olive oil.  Lower the heat if the oil starts smoking.

Siiiiigh...

While the beef is browning, roughly dice the carrots and onions and finely dice the garlic.  I personally love the effect of big pieces of veggies in stew, but if you don't, you can just finely dice everything.

Add more olive oil to the pot over medium heat, and cook the garlic for 30 seconds.  When it starts to sizzle, add the carrots and onions and cook until they start to soften, 8-10 minutes.

Add the tomato paste and cook for a couple minutes.

Pour in the wine and scrape the bottom to release the beautiful browned bits of beef.  Simmer over medium-high heat until reduced by half, about 10 minutes.

Pour in the beef broth and add the thyme and bay leaf.

Add the short ribs back to the pot, submerging them in the broth.  Throw the pancetta in too, because why not?  Cover and cook at 300 degrees for 2.5 hours until the meat is fork-tender.

My reaction was like, ohhhh my gosh, yesssssss!

Tilt the pot and skim off the fat.  I removed the short ribs to a bowl for this step, but you really don't have to.  Taste the gravy for salt and pepper and add if necessary.

1.5 teaspoons salt
1.5 cups stone-ground cornmeal
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
3/4 cup Parmesan cheese (1.5 ounces)

Bring 6 cups of water to a boil in a medium-sized saucepan.  Add salt.  Reduce the heat to the lowest possible setting and slowly pour in the polenta while whisking vigorously.  Make sure the polenta in the water is totally lump-free before adding more cornmeal.

All of the cornmeal has been added and the mixture is completely smooth (except for a charming lump here and there..).

Cover and cook, still over extremely low heat, stirring every 5 minutes for 30 minutes.

Add the butter and Parmesan and stir until smooth.

Add salt and pepper to taste.

2 teaspoons salt
1 bunch broccoli rabe
1/2 cup oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes
6 cloves garlic
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
3 tablespoons pine nuts

Discard the thick stem parts of the broccoli rabe and cut the remainder into 1-inch pieces.

Fill a large pot with water and bring to a boil.  Add salt and broccoli rabe which will wilt in just a second.

Cook for two minutes until still bright green and perfectly crunchy.

Drain in a large colander.

Drain the tomatoes from the oil and thinly slice.

Finely dice the garlic and cook with the red pepper flakes and sun-dried tomatoes in a little oil over medium heat.  Add the thoroughly drained broccoli rabe and cook until the rabe is warmed through.  At this point, I toasted the pine nuts in a small pan over medium heat, but before I could take a picture, I knocked them all into the sink.  SO, I toasted some more and dumped them into the rabe, but was all flustered and forgot to take a picture, so use your imagination!

Totally worth it.