This is another seasonal transition dish that marries hearty braised short ribs with some liter, more spring-like flavors.  I paired the short ribs with risotto style farro, wilted greens, and the braising vegetables and garnished it with thinly sliced radishes and spring onions.  This dish would be great with any rice or grain.  You can also skip it completely and serve it simply with vegetables and maybe some crusty bread to soak up the beautiful sherry and veal stock reduction that’s scented with lavender and honey.  Here I used a sweet sherry and, coupled with the honey, was almost too sweet.  So, if you prefer your main meals more on the savory side of the spectrum, simply use a dry sherry instead.  It will be great either way.  However, if you do use a sweet sherry, the extra sweetness added a nice balance to the earthiness of the farro, greens, radishes, and onions.  If you don’t have sherry, feel free to use a good quality white wine…it will turn out just as great.  Recipe follows after the jump…

Ingredients:

4 Bone-in short ribs (or 1 per person)

2 Medium onions, finely chopped

2 Carrots, thinly sliced

2 Celery stalks, thinly sliced

1 Red bell pepper, finely chopped

2 Tablespoons dried lavender

3-4 Tablespoons honey

½ Bottle sweet sherry

1 Quart veal stock

2 Bay leaves

Grapeseed oil

Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper

1 Tablespoon butter

Drizzle of sherry vinegar

1-2 Radishes, thinly sliced

1 Green spring onion, thinly sliced

Instructions:

• Approximately one hour prior to starting, take the short ribs out of the refrigerator and allow to come to room temperature.
• Prepare the onions, carrots, celery, and red bell pepper and place in large bowl.
• Dry off the short ribs and then season with a good amount of kosher salt and freshly ground pepper and rub seasoning into the meat.
• Heat a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat for a few minutes. Then add enough grapeseed oil to the pan to coat.  Allow the oil to heat in the pan another minute or so.
• Once the pan is ready, carefully place each short rib into the pan and brown on all sides. This should take a while (20 minutes or so).  The flavor is developed in this step so don’t go too fast.  Also do not overcrowd the pan.  If you have too many short ribs, work in batches to do the browning.
• Once the short ribs are deeply browned on all sides, remove them from the pan and set aside. Drain most of the accumulated oil in the pan and then place pan back on heat.  Place all vegetables in the pan.
• Using a wooden spoon, stir the vegetables occasionally, carefully scraping the bottom of the pan as you go in order to loosen any browned bits.
• Once the vegetables are starting to brown, lower the heat to low and add the honey and 1.5 Tablespoons lavender. Add the bay leaves and stir to combine.
• Turn the heat off and pour the sherry into the pan. Once done, turn the heat back to medium and allow the sherry to cook and reduce slightly, about 5 minutes.
• Next, add the veal stock to the pan and bring to a boil. Once at a boil, carefully place the short ribs back into the pan and reduce heat to low.
• Cover the short ribs and cook until the short ribs are very tender, about 2.5-3 hours.
• Once done, remove the short ribs from the pan and sprinkle them lightly with a touch more lavender. Strain the vegetables while reserving the cooking liquid.  Place the strained cooking liquid into another pan and place over medium heat.
• Reduce the cooking liquid until it thickens into a glaze. There will be approximately 1 cup of liquid left when you reach that point and the liquid will thickly coat the back of a spoon.  Add a touch of butter and a very small drizzle of sherry vinegar.
• Taste the sauce and adjust the seasoning by adding more salt, pepper, butter, or sherry vinegar.

Plate the short rib by placing grains and/or wilted greens on the plate.  Place the short rib over the top and then ladle a bit of the sauce over the top of the short rib.  Spoon some of the reserved braising vegetables around the plate.  Garnish with the thinly sliced radishes and sliced spring onions.  Serve immediately while hot/warm.