Tuscan Style Beef Short Ribs with Lemon Rosemary Sauce

When most Americans think of ribs, they automatically think BBQ. But that is just the tip of the iceberg. There is absolutely nothing wrong with BBQed ribs, but there are so many other ways of preparing ribs too. Ribs are eaten in just about every country in the world, so WHY would they only be BBQed? As with anything that makes it way around the world, there are many different and delicious ways of preparing them.

Italians, and particularly Northern Italians, love foods with lemon. These ribs were made with hints of lemon. They are similar to what the Italians call rosticciana. They were so full of flavor and just melted in our mouths. The meat literally just fell right off the bone. I served the ribs over some Cajun styled black beans and rice or another version of dirty rice and a salad of mixed greens. I used the lemon-rosemary vinaigrette for both the ribs and the salad, so you can see it is a versatile dressing.

Of course I didn’t follow the recipe exactly. You know I played with it tweaked it, and as a friend of mine would say, I “Jeannefied it”. Here is my version.

I started off by slow cooking the ribs for about 4 hours on medium-high heat. I cooked it in some ham broth I had made, along with some lemon juice, rosemary, garlic, black pepper and a dash of lemon balsamic vinegar. I didn’t measure any of it, like I normally don’t. I guestimated. I put in about 3-4 cups of broth, 1 TBSP garlic, 2-TBSP lemon juice, 1-2 TBSP lemon balsamic vinegar, and about 2 tsp of black pepper.

Once the meat was cooked, I topped it with a delicious lemon-rosemary vinaigrette. This vinaigrette was fantastic on both the meat and on the salad as well.

Lemon-Rosemary Vinaigrette

As you may have noticed, I like simple recipes that use everyday ingredients. This lemon-rosemary vinaigrette is just that too.

1/4 cup olive oil

3/4 TBSP garlic

2 tsp fresh rosemary, chopped fine

2 TBSP lemon juice

black pepper to taste

Heat the olive oil, rosemary and garlic in the microwave for about 30-40 seconds to really bring out the aromas and flavors of all of them. Then add the lemon juice and black pepper and whisk everything together well.

I spooned it over the ribs and then tossed my salad greens in it too. !Fantastico! My wine of choice was a crisp, cool chardonnay that matched the meal perfectly.

I guarantee you’re going to like this one. Stay safe and stay well Everyone. ‘Til next time.