Rimonim - The Hebrew word for Pomegranate also means to gather together. Like the arils of it's namesake, that nestle and cluster together. A beautiful metaphor; a gentle reminder for people to come together, to hold each other up, to support, to lean on, to grow and to blossom. Together. This is a dish I like to serve during Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year. But, honestly, it is a welcome celebratory dish for any fall or winter holiday table. Bon Appetit
servings: 4 – 6
prepping time: 20 min
cooking time: 3.5- 4 hours
Ingredients
2 - 4 tablespoons Olive oil 5 pounds bone-in short ribs, at least 1 1/2 inches thick - you want beefy ribs
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
Garlic Powder - good shake on ribs
2 large heads garlic, separated, skins on
2-3 large onions chopped
4 ribs celery cut on the diagonal
2 medium carrots cut on the diagonal
2-3 tablespoons tomato paste
2 -3 cups dry red wine.
2 cups beef stock or bone broth (use beef bouillon dissolved in water if unavailable; (water will also work in a pinch),
plus more as needed
4 sprigs thyme
1 bunch Parsley
1 bunch Cilantro
1 cup parsley, coarsely chopped
For Garnish
1/2cup finely chopped chives
1 tablespoon finely grated lemon zest
1 cup Pomegranate Arils
Directions
Heat oil in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Season short ribs on all sides with salt and pepper and garlic powder. Working in batches, sear short ribs on all sides until deeply and evenly browned, 6 to 8 minutes per batch. Transfer browned short ribs to a large plate and continue with remaining ribs. Pour off all but 2 tablespoons of remaining fat, leaving the good browned bits behind. Add onion, celery and carrots. Reduce heat to medium, and add whole garlic cloves, until golden brown, about 5-8 minutes, scraping up the brown bits from the bottom. This is all the flavor, aka the good stuff that will make your ribs delish! Season with salt and pepper. Toss to coat and continue to cook until vegetables are softened. Add tomato paste, pomegranate molasses and stir to coat. Continue to cook, stirring occasionally, until tomato paste has started to caramelize a bit on the bottom and up the edges of the pot, about 2 to 3 minutes. Add red wine and, using a wooden spoon, scrape up any remaining brown or caramelized bits. Let this simmer 2 to 3 minutes. Stir in beef stock (or water) along with thyme & aromatics. Using tongs, return short ribs to the pot, along with any juices that have accumulated, nestling them into sauce so that they are submerged (if they are just barely covered, nestle them bone side up so that all the meat is submerged, adding more beef stock or water as necessary to cover). Bring to a simmer, then cover. Cook, undisturbed, on med. low burner until short ribs are meltingly tender and falling off the bone (you should be able to shred the meat with a fork), 3½ to 4 hours. Using tongs, remove the ribs from the pot, taking care not to let the bone slip out and transfer them to a large plate. (While you could serve the short ribs right out of this pot, the vegetables have all given up their flavor and texture and aren’t worth much now, so feel free to strain the sauce for easier eating.) Also discard the bundled cilantro and parsley aromatics. Garnish with fresh parsley, chives and lemon zest over the top of the short ribs platter. Separate the fat & any remaining whole garlic cloves, (they will have melted into their skins) from the sauce, season with salt and pepper and serve sauce alongside platter.