Braised Beef Short Ribs with Parsnip Puree

It took me a while to settle on the very first fall Sunday dinner menu. I actually started with a side dish idea- I've made Tyler Florence's parsnip puree a dozen times at least and its absolutely delicious. I pulled it up on foodtv.com and found a recipe for braised short ribs alongside it. I'd never made short ribs before and braising something low and slow all day sounded like the perfect excuse to laze around the house... so it was decided. Tripp and Luci were coming for dinner and the menu would be as follows: A Cheddar Tasting Plate (Wisconsin, New York and Vermont) with Garlic and Herb Crackers Braised Beef Short Ribs with Parsnip Puree Butter Lettuce Salad with Apples, Cranberries and Goat Cheese Pear Tart I asked for 8 short ribs at the meat counter at Whole Foods- I figured two per person. It rounded out to 3.6 lbs which was plenty though I saw later that Tyler suggested 4 lbs. (We're on a first name basis.) Tyler grills them before braising however I decided to sear them quickly (1 minute per side) in my dutch oven to avoid the chilly back porch (sad given it was almost 60 degrees). I seared four at a time to avoid crowding the pot then set them aside while I made the braising mixture.

Tyler makes a "pulp" if you will of the vegetables which I thought was interesting. The homogenous texture seemed to help all of the flavors meld together more quickly than a chunky stew of vegetables would have.

I followed the recipe exactly, though I started with the bit of fat rendered from the ribs in the pot. I first toasted my fresh rosemary and thyme slightly, added the vegetable mixture to cook for 10 mins, (I didn't have a fresh tomato on hand so I used 1/3 cup of canned crushed tomatoes instead), lastly went in the beef stock and red wine. I wanted a full bodied wine so I went with a 2008 Tilia Malbec from Argentina that I found at Whole Foods.

I checked the ribs at 2 1/2 hours and they weren't quite tender. I checked again at 3 hrs and decided to let them keep going over the very low heat for about 3.5 hours. The braising liquid by this point smelled like HEAVEN although the ribs still weren't really "falling off the bones" as promised. Some pieces came off with a little nudge, other required a fork and knife as we ate them -though the meat was still delicious and not at all tough to chew. I'm not sure if my cooking temp was off or if perhaps they needed to go even longer.. I'll have to do some reading.

While the ribs were braising, I made the parsnips. I peeled about 1.5 lbs of parsnips and cut them into 1" pieces. Per the recipe I covered them with milk in a saucepan and simmered over medium heat with garlic and thyme (I was out of bay leaves) until they were fork tender (15 mins). I then pureed them with about half of the cooking liquid and 1/2 stick of melted butter in the food processor until smooth and creamy, similar to whipped potatoes in texture. (Tyler calls for a whole stick of butter but for 4 servings, I don't think its entirely necessary.) If you've never had whipped parsnips, they have a delicious sweetness, similar to a carrot with almost a nutmeg-ish flavor to them. I actually add a TINY pinch of nutmeg to the cooking liquid to enhance it. Do try this recipe if you're curious, I swear it will outshine your average mashed potatoes as a go-to fall side dish.

At the very last minute, I ladled about two cups of the braising sauce into a strainer to remove the pulpiness and cooked it down in a saucepan for about 10 minutes or until slightly reduced. I took it off the heat and swirled in two tablespoons of butter to add an extra silkiness to it. I poured some over the ribs on each plate and then passed the rest of it in a small pitcher at the table.

Tyler of course made this plate look far more professional with some fresh parsley for garnish and a world class food photographer at his side- sadly, I left parsley off of my grocery list and my pocket size cannon powershot is doing the very best it can. Take my word for it though, this dish served with a side salad and a crusty whole wheat baguette was a pretty great combo.

Entirely by coincidence, Tripp and Luci brought along a 2008 Malbec from Argentina too! We sipped on both bottles with dinner and I determined the the Alamos was a bit more my speed- perhpas a little less fruit to it. Both were very good though.

I'll save the Pear Tart for my next post!