On the Line: Lauren “Lulu” De Rouen of CUCINA enoteca, Part Three

We wrap up our visit to De Rouen's cucina on a meaty note. With a little bit of everything in one bowl, short ribs sound ideal during our seasonal visit of less than ideal weather. To learn more about our chef, you can catch up with part two here.

Short Rib Pappardelle + Cremini Mushroom

Serves 4

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Short rib ingredients:

5 pounds boneless short ribs
3 cups red wine
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
1 carrot, sliced 1/2-inch thick
1 onion, roughly chopped
10 cloves garlic, peeled
10 sprigs thyme
15 whole black peppercorns
2 bay leaves
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 tablespoons tomato paste
3 quarts rich veal stock
Salt and pepper to taste

Ragout ingredients:

1/2 onion, diced
1 tablespoon chopped garlic
1 tablespoon chopped carrot
2 tablespoons oil
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1/4 cup port wine
1/4 cup dry red wine
1 tablespoon paprika
1 tablespoon celery salt
1 cup diced tomato
2 quarts short rib braise
1 cup cremini mushrooms
1 tablespoon chopped garlic
1 tablespoon chopped shallot
1 pound pappardelle
1 tablespoon butter
Aged Parmesan cheese (to garnish)

Directions:

Prepare the short ribs by marinating them in red wine, red wine vinegar, carrots, onions, garlic, thyme, peppercorns, and bay leaves. Season with salt and pepper. Place into a large re-sealable plastic bag and refrigerate overnight.

Preheat oven to 320 degrees. In a large, heavy-bottomed roasting pan, heat oil. Remove short ribs from marinade and sear in pan until nice and brown on both sides. Strain the vegetables from the liquid of the marinade, reserving both vegetables and marinade.

Remove the short ribs from the pan and set aside. Sweat vegetables in same pan until just soft. Add tomato paste and deglaze with reserved marinade. Place short ribs back in pan and cover with veal stock. Cover and finish in oven for 4 hours, or until tender.

Remove short ribs from braising liquid and place on flat baking pan, placing a small weight on top to press some of the fat out. Refrigerate until ready to use. Strain the remaining liquid and discard the vegetables.

To make the ragout, sweat onion, garlic and carrot in a little oil. Add tomato paste and deglaze with port and red wine. Reduce until almost dry; add in tomato, celery salt and paprika. Cut down the short ribs to 1-inch cubes and add in. Cover with about 3/4 of the strained short rib braise and simmer for a minimum of 1 hour.

In a saute pan, cook cremini mushrooms with garlic and shallots. Add the short rib ragout and some of the remaining short rib braise. In a large pot of boiling, salted water, cook the pappardelle until just done (about 2 minutes). Add the pappardelle to the ragout and mushrooms, finish with a tablespoon of butter. Plate in a shallow pasta bowl and top with shaved aged Parmesan cheese.

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