How To: Make beef short ribs braised w/wild mushrooms & tomato

These lovely beef short ribs with wild mushrooms and tomato are just made for a cool fall or winter night. The succulent beef short ribs are slowly stewed in the earthy mushroom and tomato sauce until fork-tender, ready to then be piled on some mashed potatoes. Dried mushrooms are easy to find in any large grocery store, and just a small amount adds tons of flavor to this short ribs recipe.
Makes 4 portions
Ingredients:
* 1/2 cup dried porcini mushrooms
* 1/2 cup water
* 2 1/2 to 3 pounds beef short ribs (about 8-10 pieces)
* salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
* 2 tbsp vegetable oil
* 1 onion, sliced
* 2 cloves garlic, minced
* 2 cups beef broth
* 1 cup tomato sauce
* 1/2 tsp salt
* 1 bay leaf
* 1 tsp dried rosemary
Preparation:
1. In a small bowl, soak porcini in the water for 30 minutes or until soft. Remove mushrooms (reserve the liquid). Chop into small pieces.
2. Season the beef short ribs generously with salt & freshly ground black pepper to taste. Preheat a large skillet on high heat; add oil. Brown beef short ribs very well on all sides. Transfer into a Dutch oven or some other oven-safe deep casserole with a tight fitting lid.
3. In the same skillet, over medium heat, sautee onions until soft, about 5 minutes. Add garlic & reserved porcini mushroom. Cook 1 minute more. Pour in liquid from the mushrooms into skillet to deglaze (be careful to pour slowly as there may be a few grains of sand at bottom of bowl). Use a spoon to scrape any browned bits from bottom of pan. Pour mixture over short ribs.
4. Add beef broth, tomato sauce, bay leaf, rosemary & salt. Stir to distribute everything evenly. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Cover tightly & slowly braise in the oven for 2 hours, or until the short ribs are fork tender. Remove lid, skim any excess fat from the surface, taste for salt and pepper and adjust if needed. Additional beef broth can be added if mixture has dried out too much in the oven. Serve hot over mashed potatoes.