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Heat olive oil over medium/medium-high heat in a 3-quart
casserole. Place the ribs on a plate and liberally salt and
pepper them on both sides.
In batches, brown the ribs well on all sides. Reserve
browned ribs on plate. Pour off all but 1 tablespoon of oil
from casserole.
Once the ribs are browned preheat oven to 300˚F with the
function set to regular bake, rack in position 2.
Add onion, garlic, and carrots to casserole and brown.
As the vegetables brown, scrape the residue on the
bottom of the casserole with a wooden spoon to mix in
with the vegetables. Add the sprigs of thyme and stir.
Once vegetables are well browned and soft, add the
vinegar. It will reduce immediately; when it does, add the
red wine and simmer for about 5 minutes until the wine
has been reduced by half. Stir in the tomato paste and
place the ribs back into the casserole. Stand the ribs
up so that the rib is actually sticking up in the air. Add
enough stock for the liquid to come half way up the sides
of the ribs.
Cover casserole and place in oven. Check every half hour
to make sure the liquid is merely simmering. If the liquid
is boiling rapidly, reduce the temperature of the oven.
If necessary add more stock. After one hour, turn the ribs
in the liquid with a pair of tongs. Cover and return to
oven until the meat is falling off the bone and very tender
– about another 1 to 1
1
⁄2 hours.
Remove ribs from liquid and reserve. Place casserole on
stove. Skim fat well and reduce the liquid so that it thick-
ens to a sauce consistency. Return ribs to sauce to warm
and serve.
It is also possible to cool ribs in their liquid and refriger-
ate to reheat and serve the following day (the flavors will
just intensify and get better over night).
Nutritional information per serving:
Calories 556 (41% from fat) • carb. 18g • pro. 48g • fat 25g
sat. fat 8g • chol. 146mg • sod. 3676mg • calc. 43mg • fiber 1g