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Lidia Mattichio Bastianich is the author of two books,
La Cucina di Lidia and the best-selling Lidia's Italian
Table, with a new book due out in the fall of 2004. She
is also the host of two public television series, Lidia's
Italian Table and Lidia's Italian-American Kitchen.
She is the co-owner of three New York City restaurants: Felidia,
Becco, and Esca, and gives lectures on Italian cuisine throughout
the country.
This is one of those dishes in which I combine the old with the
new. The technique and seasonings in this dish are very close to a
guazetto, a way of braising typical to the region of Italy in which
I was born. But the use of short ribs and the way I reduce the wine
before adding it to the stew bring it up to date and into
America.
- from Lidia's Italian-American Kitchen, published by
Alfred A. Knopf
INGREDIENTS
One 750-milliliter bottle dry red wine
3 to 4 cups hot chicken stock or canned reduced-sodium chicken
broth
1/2 cup dried porcini mushrooms
6 pounds beef short ribs, cut into 5- to 6-ounce pieces
Salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup vegetable oil
2 large onions, chopped (about 3 cups)
1/3 cup minced bacon or pancetta
1 1/2 cups grated carrot
2 sprigs fresh rosemary
4 fresh or dried bay leaves
6 whole cloves
1/3 cup tomato paste
2 cups crushed Italian plum tomatoes and their
liquid
DIRECTIONS
- Bring the red wine to a boil in a medium saucepan. Lower the
heat so the wine is boiling gently and cook until the wine is
reduced to 1 cup. Set aside.
- Pour 1 cup of the hot stock over the mushrooms in a small,
heatproof bowl. Let stand until softened, about 20 minutes.
- Drain the mushrooms in a sieve lined with a double thickness
of cheesecloth or a coffee filter: reserve the soaking liquid.
- Rinse the mushrooms briefly to remove any grit. Chop the
mushrooms coarsely and set them aside.
- Season the ribs generously with salt and pepper.
- Heat the oil in a wide, heavy braising pan over medium heat.
Lay as many of the short rib pieces as will fit into the pan in a
single layer. Cook, turning as necessary, until evenly and well
browned on all sides.
- Remove them to a plate and repeat with the remaining ribs.
Adjust the heat as the ribs cook, so that they brown without
burning.
- Pour off all but about 2 tablespoons of the fat from the pan.
- Stir in the onions and bacon and cook, stirring, until the
onions are lightly browned, about 6 minutes.
- Stir in the chopped mushrooms and the carrot, rosemary, bay
leaves, and cloves.
- Season lightly with salt and pepper, and cook until the carrot
is wilted, about 3 minutes.
- Drop in the tomato paste and stir well until the vegetables
are coated and the tomato paste begins to darken, 2 to 3 minutes.
- Pour in the reduced wine and the crushed tomatoes and tuck the
browned short ribs into the pan.
- Pour in enough of the remaining chicken stock to barely cover
the ribs. Bring to a boil, then lower the heat so the liquid is at
a lively simmer. Cook, adding the remaining stock a little at a
time as necessary to keep the ribs covered, until the ribs are
tender and just about to fall off the bone, 21/2to 3 hours.
- Taste the cooking liquid from time to time as the ribs cook
and add salt if necessary.
- Pick out the ribs from the sauce, carefully so as to prevent
the bone from falling out, and set them on a baking sheet.
- Ladle the cooking liquid into a sieve placed over a bowl and
push the liquid through with the back of the ladle. Discard the
solids in the sieve and return the strained liquid to the pan.
- Tuck the ribs back into the sauce. You may serve the ribs at
this point, or cool them in the liquid and refrigerate them for up
to three days. Bring them back to a simmer and cook until heated
through before serving.
Makes 6 servings
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