Slow Cooker Beef Short Ribs

 

Needing a warming and simple meal we decided to try making a beef short rib dish.  The ingredients we used were 800g short ribs

and, for the marinade - 
Salt and Pepper
Squirt of rice syrup
3 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed
1 tsp mustard powder
1 tsp smoked paprika
25ml Worcestershire sauce (we use Biona gluten free)


The marinade ingredients were mixed together



and the ribs were coated in the marinade before being placed in the fridge overnight.





Next day, the other ingredients  - 2 carrots, a leek, 2 sticks of celery (all diced), a Knorr beef stock pot and some red wine were gathered and prepared.

Placing the prepared vegetables in the slow cooker, the ribs were laid on top before adding the wine and stock.

Setting the slow cooker to high for one hour on the and then reducing to the low setting for the remainder of the cooking time.







We left ours on low for about 5 hours - giving a total cooking time of about 6 hours.

Once we were ready to eat, the ribs were served  with a mixed root veg mash (made of potatoes, sweet potatoes and swede).

1.8kg/4lb beef short ribs (Jacob's Ladder), cut in half widthways or oxtail pieces

Salt and freshly milled black pepper

50g/2oz dark brown sugar

6 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed

10ml/2tsp mustard powder

5ml/1tsp smoked paprika

45ml/3tbsp Worcestershire sauce

30ml/2tbsp rapeseed or olive oil

2 medium leeks, sliced and rinsed

2 large parsnips, peeled and chopped

2 bay leaves

850ml/1½pints good, hot beef stock

1 x 400g can chopped tomatoes with herbs

- See more at: http://www.simplybeefandlamb.co.uk/recipes/slow-cooked-beef-short-ribs-slow-cooker-version#sthash.P8K5lHq2.dpuf

1.8kg/4lb beef short ribs (Jacob's Ladder), cut in half widthways or oxtail pieces

Salt and freshly milled black pepper

50g/2oz dark brown sugar

6 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed

10ml/2tsp mustard powder

5ml/1tsp smoked paprika

45ml/3tbsp Worcestershire sauce

30ml/2tbsp rapeseed or olive oil

2 medium leeks, sliced and rinsed

2 large parsnips, peeled and chopped

2 bay leaves

850ml/1½pints good, hot beef stock

1 x 400g can chopped tomatoes with herbs

- See more at: http://www.simplybeefandlamb.co.uk/recipes/slow-cooked-beef-short-ribs-slow-cooker-version#sthash.P8K5lHq2.dpuf

1.8kg/4lb beef short ribs (Jacob's Ladder), cut in half widthways or oxtail pieces

Salt and freshly milled black pepper

50g/2oz dark brown sugar

6 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed

10ml/2tsp mustard powder

5ml/1tsp smoked paprika

45ml/3tbsp Worcestershire sauce

30ml/2tbsp rapeseed or olive oil

2 medium leeks, sliced and rinsed

2 large parsnips, peeled and chopped

2 bay leaves

850ml/1½pints good, hot beef stock

1 x 400g can chopped tomatoes with herbs

- See more at: http://www.simplybeefandlamb.co.uk/recipes/slow-cooked-beef-short-ribs-slow-cooker-version#sthash.P8K5lHq2.dpuf

Panna Cotta and Coulis

Following the great success of the Sainsbury's Marshmallow Kit, we were asked if we'd like to try out their Panna Cotta Dessert Mix.

As always, we checked the ingredients were gluten free (they are) and decided to give it a go.  Since Sous Chef J is a big fan of Panna Cotta (as well as Creme Brulee and Creme Caramel) this was a good way to see if we could make a suitably 'wobbly' dessert as he's seen made many times on TV cooking shows.

The kit tells you the ingredients required to make the dessert are 250ml each of semi-skimmed milk and double cream



We gathered all of the ingredients and equipment ready to start.


Taking each step at a time, the dessert was made - here's what we did....

SCJ poured the contents of the bag into a pan.

The milk and then the cream were also added to the pan.,

Making sure the milk/cream mix was whisked whilst it was brought up to simmer.

The heated milk/cream mix was ladled into ramekins (we used 8 small ones)

Having filled the ramekins, we put them on a tray to cool slightly before chilling fuly in the fridge for 3 hours.

To accompany the Panna Cotta, we decided to make some 'coulis'... and, having been impressed with the range of frozen fruits on sale in Sainsbury's, Sous Chef J chose a 'smoothie mix' of strawberries and bananas to make ours (he's saving the mango for another day/dish).

As usual, we didn't want to make anything complicated.  Taking a handful of the frozen fruit mix (actually, SCJ only chose to use the strawberries) we left them to defrost as the panna cotta was cooling in the fridge. 



The strawberries were put it in a dish, with a squirt of rice syrup, and pushed through a small seive (we were only making a small amount - suggest using a hand blender if you're making more) 


The finished 'coulis' was looking good.

Turning out the panna cottas, Sous Chef J was delighted to find they had a very satisfying 'wobble' so we topped them with the strawberry coulis ready to serve.

The Panna Cotta desserts were very tasty and Sous Chef J is happy to think he can make them again another day... and is already thinking he'd like to make "one big one".  Another successful make it yourself trial.

Disclosure - we were sent a pack of Panna Cotta mix by Sainsbury's. We did not have to write a positive blog post. All opinions are our own.

Cauliflower 'Rice'

Having seen lots of blog posts and mentions in books about cauliflower used as a substitute for rice, we sought out info on how to do so.  Most seemed to involve a microwave... which we don't have.  So, we decided to give it a go 'our way' and here's how we did it.

The Cauliflower was separated into florets.

Placing the florets into our blended, they were pulse-whizzed...




...until the cauliflower resembled breadcrumbs.

Putting the cauli crumbs in a small skillet, a couple of tablespoons of hot water were added before the lid was put on and the cauli crumb was cooked/steamed on a medium heat for 3 minutes.

After this time, we checked the cauli crumb was cooked through.







The cauliflower 'rice' was ready to serve with a chicken curry and made a great low carb, low calorie and speedy accompaniment for the spicy dish.