Braised Short Ribs & Kuri Squash Orzo

This dish was just so absolutely delicious, and now my new favorite orzo is squash orzo. This is the second dish I have made from The Babbo Cookbook by Mario Batali, and I have realized what a great purchase it was. Its one of those cookbooks that doesn’t just have great pictures and what read like good recipes, it actually has good recipes - ones that you can re-create and turn out tasting as good as the pictures look in the book.

Just a few points that I picked up as I was making this…

I found a beautiful Red Kuri Squash at the market, but this recipe is good for any pumpkin or squash of your liking. I loved the red kuri squash - it has a sweet and warm, almost chestnutty flavor to it.

I ended up halving this recipe for two people and it still worked out.

The recipe never called to plate the tomato stew that the beef cooked in. I did, and thought it really complimented the orzo - not to mention was filled with flavor.

Next time, I will leave out the gremolata garnish for the beef - or perhaps instead of lemon rind strips, I’ll just grate it. When I would get a full slice in my mouth, it just was too overpowering for the dish.

If I don’t do the gremolata for the beef next time, I will garnish the squash orzo with some chopped flat leaf parsley and a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil. The parsley went really well with the orzo and the oil can help to add a little shine to the orzo.

The grilled squash was so delicious, that as it was cooling I couldn’t stop stealing bites. I will definitely make simple grilled squash again.

Lastly, I happened to get the two fattiest pieces of short rib and was concerned I was going to have a coronary after I was done eating. Next time, I’ll ask the butcher for leaner pieces of beef. Don’t get me wrong, I like somewhat fatty beef for the flavor - but these pieces were much more fat than actual meat.

 

I really recommend this dish. Let me know if it worked out for you as good as it did for me… I am sure it will.

 

Recipe: Braised Short Ribs with Horseradish Gremolata & Red Kuri Squash Orzo adapted from The Babbo Cookbook by Mario Batali

 

Serves: 4

 

Ingredients: Braised Short Ribs

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

4  - 16 ounce Beef Short Ribs (I used 12 ounce ribs, more than enough)

Kosher salt & Freshly ground Black Pepper

2 Carrots, peeled & roughly chopped

1 Onion, roughly chopped

2 Celery stalks, roughly chopped

5 garlic cloves, thinly sliced

2 cups Barolo, or other full bodies red wine

1 - 16 ounce can peeled tomatoes, crushed by hand with their juices

1 cup, brown chicken stock

1/2 bunch thyme

1/2 bunch rosemary

1/2 bunch oregano

 

Ingredients: Gremolata

Leaves from 1 bunch flat leaf parsley

zest of 2 lemons cut into julienned strips

1/4 lb fresh Horseradish, grated

 

Ingredients: Orzo

1/2 lb of Squash or pumpkin, seeded and peeled

Kosher Salt & freshly ground Black Pepper

2 tbls extra virgin olive oil 

2 tbls honey

2 tbls balsamic vinegar

1 cup orzo

1 cup brown chicken stock

 

Directions: Short Ribs

1 Preheat oven to 375 degrees

2 In a large, heavy bottomed skillet or Dutch Oven, heat the olive oil over high heat until smoking. Season the ribs with salt and pepper and cook them over high heat until deep brown on all sides, about 15 minutes total. Remove the short ribs to a plate and set aside. Add the carrots, celery, onion and garlic to the pan under high heat until browned and softened, about 4 minutes. Season with salt and pepper and stir in red wine, tomatoes, juices, chicken stock, and herbs, scraping the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon to dislodge brown bits. Bring the mixture to a boil and return the short ribs to the pan. Cover with aluminum foil and place in oven. Cook for 2 hours, or until the meat is very tender and literally falling off the bones.

3 To make the gremolata: In a small bowl combine the parsley, lemon zest, and horseradish and toss loosely by hand.

4 Divide the pumpkin orzo evenly among four warmed bowls. Place one short rib in each bowl, top with a little of the pan juices and a handful of the gremolata and serve immediately.

 

Directions: Squash Orzo

1 Cut the squash or pumpkin into 3 or 4 evenly sized pieces. Season with salt and pepper, drizzle with the olive oil and wrap in the foil. Roast in the oven for 30 - 40 minutes, or until very soft. Remove from the oven and allow to cool for five minutes, the place the cooked squash in the bowl of a food processor. Add the honey, balsamic vinegar, and salt and pepper and pulse to form a relatively smooth puree. Set aside.

2 Bring 3 quarts of water to a boil and add 2 tbls of salt. Set up ice bath nearby. Cook the orzo in the boiling water for 3 minutes, to blanch but not cook though. Drain the orzo and plunge it into the ice bath. Once cooled, drain it and lay it out on a baking sheet to dry.

3 Bring the chicken stock to a boil in a 12 - inch saute pan. Add the orzo and squash puree and cook over high heat, stirring frequently, until the chicken stock is fully absorbed by the orzo. Season with salt and pepper and serve.