Braised Short Rib Pasta Sauce
Description
A batch of braised short ribs is the start of what my mom would call "coasting in the kitchen." This means, you make a big batch of something and then either eat off it for a couple of days as is, or re-imagine it into other things. And it turns out that braised short rib meat makes a pretty dandy base for a delicious pasta sauce.
While this recipe couldn't be a lot easier because after making the short ribs, you've already done most of the chopping and so on, you will need to allow it a couple of hours to simmer in order to let it reduce and develop deep, rich flavors.
This is great served with either pappardelle pasta or the newest pasta shape: cascatelli, or "waterfall" shaped pasta. See my review of cascatelli pasta here.
Ingredients
Instructions
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In a small bowl, mix the tomato paste with the flour and set aside.
Heat oil in a large, heavy Dutch oven or saute pan. When oil is hot, add the diced pancetta and saute over medium-high heat.
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When the pancetta is nicely cooked through and a little crispy, add the tomato paste-flour mixture and stir to break up and dissolve the paste, but don't let the flour brown. Add braising liquid and tomatoes. Stir and bring to a simmer.
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Using your mortar and pestle, grind the Penzey's Tuscan Sunset seasoning, the lemon-pepper seasoning and the seasoned salt into a powder and add to the simmering sauce.
Let the sauce simmer for about a half an hour covered. Then remove the cover and bring to a gentle simmer. Let simmer until the mixture thickens somewhat--about 45 minutes to an hour.
Chop the short rib meat and add it to the sauce, and let the whole thing simmer for another 20-30 minutes. Don't add the meat until the end. No fair asking me how I know ;-) If added too soon, the meat will kind of disintegrate. You want to be able to see and taste chunks of meat in your sauce.
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Prepare your boxed pasta per instructions, drain and return to pot. With the pasta on the lowest heat setting, add the sauce to the pasta and toss until you have a pleasing balance of sauce to pasta--I usually have a little sauce leftover, which freezes beautifully for a quick weeknight meal in the future!
Add cheese if you like, but, really--it doesn't need a thing--just dive in.
Serve with a crisp green salad with a simple vinaigrette dressing and a glass of chianti and you've got a restaurant-quality meal on a Tuesday!
