Gnocchi Poutine with Braised Short Rib Ragu

Today's post is for my good friend Matt. I made this for him a few months back and he visited the blog with the intention of making it when he realized I hadn't posted the recipe (it wasn't a Sunday). But I was really excited to learn he's been visiting the blog and making the recipes (I have an actual follower!). He made the Baked Cinnamon French Toast for his family and is keen to make the Short Rib Ragu, so I decided to make it this week and post it for him. Matt, I got lots of love for you - enjoy!

My boyfriend Jamie Oliver says he no longer browns meat for stews as he tested two pots, one with and one without, and the un-browned meat stew was sweeter. So I skipped the browning step for this recipe.

Adapted from Closet Cooking and the original recipe at Food52.

Gnocchi Poutine with Braised Short Rib Ragu

Servings: make 4+ servings

Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 3 hours 20 minutes
Total Time: 3 hours 40 minutes

Ingredients

1 ounce dried porcini mushrooms
1 tablespoon olive oil
3 pounds short ribs, 2-3 inches long
1 medium onion, diced
2 stalks of celery, diced
2 peeled carrots, diced
4 cloves garlic, chopped
1 tablespoon anchovy paste
1/2 bottle red wine
14 oz can of whole tomatoes and juice
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon dried oregano
2 tablespoons thyme, picked
2 tablespoons rosemary, chopped
1/2 teaspoon fennel seeds, ground
1 piece parmigano reggiano (parmesan) rind
2 bay leaves
salt and pepper
3 cups beef stock
1 handful parsley, chopped

Zest of one lemon
4 cup gnocchi
1 1/2 cup cheese curds, room temperature

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Soak dried mushrooms in 2 cups boiling water. Season ribs with salt and pepper and set aside.

Heat oil in large, heavy pot (I used a 5-qt. enameled cast iron dutch oven) over medium heat until shimmering and sauté onion, carrots and celery until soft. Add garlic and stir until fragrant.

Create a hot spot in the pot by moving vegetables aside and leaving about a 3-inch radius bare. Add tomato paste and anchovy paste to the hot spot and stir vigorously until caramelized, then stir into the vegetables. Add red wine to deglaze and cook until liquid is reduced by half. Add tomatoes, mustard, Worcestershire sauce, mushrooms and soaking liquid (minus the last 1/4 inch to keep sediment out of your dish), plus herbs, fennel seeds and parm rind.

Add ribs to pot and fill with beef stock until ribs are nearly covered. Bring liquid to a boil, then cover tightly and braise in oven for at least 3 hours or until ribs are fall-apart tender.

Boil salted water and cook gnocchi according to package instructions, with goal to have ready once meat is shredded and sauce is pureed. 

Remove ribs from liquid and set aside until cool enough to handle. Remove bay leaves and discard. While ribs cool, purée the braising liquid with an immersion blender or in food processor until thick, return to pot. When ribs have cooled down, discard bones and large pieces of fat, then shred the beef and return it to the pot. Reduce if necessary.

Pour the ragu over the cooked gnocchi and cheese curds and garnish with chopped parsley and lemon zest.