Italian Country Style Ribs with Tomatoes

By kimvess

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 3 pounds country style ribs
• salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1 28-ounce can Italian plum tomatoes with purée or juices
• 1 medium yellow onion, chopped
• 1 medium carrot, diced
• 1 rib of celery (with leaves), diced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 teaspoon dried rosemary (or 1 tablespoon fresh)
• 1 teaspoon sweet paprika
• 1 bay leaf
• 1/2 cup dry red wine

Details

Servings 4
Adapted from blue-kitchen.com

Preparation

Step 1

Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Pat ribs dry with paper towel and season on both sides with salt and pepper (use a light hand with the salt—the canned tomatoes will probably add a fair amount). Heat olive oil over medium-high flame in a heavy Dutch oven or pot (I used our trusty Staub Cocotte, pictured above). Brown the ribs well on both sides, turning them a couple/few times, about 10 minutes total. Brown them in batches if necessary, to avoid crowding them in the pot. Meanwhile, pour tomatoes into a bowl and use kitchen shears to roughly chop tomatoes.

Transfer ribs to a plate and reduce heat to medium. Add onion, carrot and celery to pot and cook for 5 to 6 minutes, stirring frequently to avoid burning. Stir in garlic, rosemary and paprika and cook until fragrant, about 45 seconds. Add wine, scraping up any brown bits, and cook until it’s almost evaporated, about 3 minutes. Return ribs to pot, along with any accumulated juices, getting them in a single layer, as much as possible. Pour chopped tomatoes and their juices over the ribs, working them in around the meat with a wooden spoon. Tuck the bay leaf into the tomatoes. Cover the pot and transfer to the oven.

Braise ribs until very tender, 2 to 2-1/2 hours, carefully turning them about halfway through the cooking process. Transfer ribs to serving platter (they will quite likely fall apart, but they will taste so good, you won’t care). Serve with the sauce. Alternatively, toss the sauce with short cooked pasta, such as penne or farfalle, and serve as a side dish.