Braised Beef Short Ribs over Polenta with Gorgonzola

Makes 8 servings

For the short ribs:
Pat the ribs dry with paper towels and sprinkle generously with salt and pepper. In a Dutch oven or other large, heavy pot over medium-high heat, warm the olive oil. (I don’t have a Dutch oven (yet!), so I just prepared everything in my cast iron skillet and then transferred to a crockpot for the slow-cooking.) Add as many ribs as will fit into the pan in a single layer and cook, turning as needed, until well browned on all sides, about 10 minutes total. Transfer the browned ribs to a bowl, and brown the remaining ribs the same way. Remove all ribs to the bowl and tent with foil to keep warm.

Add the onions, carrots, and celery to the same pot and saute until tender, about 10 minutes. Then add the wine, bring to a simmer, and deglaze the pot, stirring to scrape up any browned bits from the pot bottom. Add the tomatoes, stock, and rosemary sprigs and bring the liquid to a simmer. Return the ribs to the pot and bring the liquid back to a simmer. Reduce heat to low, cover, and cook the ribs, turning them occasionally, until meat is very tender and falling off the bone, about 2 1/2 hours*.

* Note: If you don’t have a Dutch oven or heavy pot large enough to handle this – or if you don’t want to be chained to your kitchen for 3 hours, you can start the recipe in a large cast iron skillet and finish in a crockpot. Just take the recipe through to the deglazing point in the skillet, then add everything to a crockpot and SET IT AND FORGET IT! You can let these babies cook on low heat for 8 hours or more in the crock pot. Low and slow is great for meat like this.

For the Polenta with Gorgonzola:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

In a 2-quart baking dish, whisk together 3 cups water with the milk, polenta, and 1 teaspoon salt. Place into the preheated oven and bake, uncovered, until the liquid has been absorbed and the polenta is tender, about one hour.

Remove the dish from the oven and whisk the polenta until creamy. Stir in the Gorgonzola and butter, distributing evenly. Sprinkle the Parmigiano Reggiano evenly over the top.

Return the dish to the oven and bake until the cheeses are melted and the top is lightly browned, about 10 minutes. Serve at once.