Photo: Braised Spareribs with Fennel Recipe
Directions
Extra-virgin olive oil
Ingredients
- 1 rack spareribs, cut into ribs
- Kosher salt
- 1 large onion, cut into large dice
- 1 fennel bulb, cut into large dice
- 6 garlic cloves
- 2 cups dry white wine
- 2 bay leaves
- 2 teaspoons fennel seeds, toasted and ground
- 1 bundle thyme
- Pinch crushed red pepper
- 2 cups chicken stock
- Herb Spaetzle, recipe follows
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
Coat a Dutch oven with olive oil and bring to a high heat. Season the ribs with salt and brown in the hot oil. Remove from the pan and discard the excess oil.
While the ribs are browning, puree the onion, fennel and garlic in the food processor to a coarse paste. After the ribs are browned and pan has been purged of excess oil, add the pureed vegetables and brown.
Return the ribs to the pan and add the white wine, bay leaves, fennel seed, thyme and crushed red pepper flakes. Reduce the wine by half. Add the chicken stock, cover and place in the preheated oven. Cook the ribs for 2 hours or until they are very soft and almost falling off the bone. Check the ribs periodically to make sure everything is moving along nicely and to make sure the liquid hasn't reduced too much.
Serve the spareribs over the Herb Spaetzle.
What a rib!
Herb Spaetzle:
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- Kosher salt
- 2 eggs
- 1/2 cup milk
- 1/2 cup mixed chopped herbs (parsley, chives, marjoram, oregano or dill are great)
- Extra-virgin olive oil
Bring a large pot of well salted water to a boil over medium heat.
In a small bowl whisk together the eggs and milk until they are a homogeneous mixture.
In a large bowl, add flour and make a hole in the flour. Add a pinch of salt and using a fork, gradually combine the milk/egg mixture with the flour. Mix until they are just combined. Stir in 1/4 cup of the herbs.
Place the batter in a colander over the boiling water. Using a rubber spatula or a spaetzle maker, push the batter through a colander into the boiling water. Boil the spaetzle for 2 to 3 minutes or until firm. Drain the spaetzle and place in a medium bowl. Add some olive oil and the remaining 1/4 cup of herbs. Toss to coat evenly and serve immediately.
What cuties!
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Newest Ratings and Reviews
Read all 19 reviews
By cmillerla_11520296
Carlsbad, CA
on December 18, 2011
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Made this last night...did not change a thing and OMG was this absolutely delicious. I was concerned about using the fennel because it's not my favorite vegetable but in this recipe it works. Will be making this again & again & again. Served it with buttered egg noodles and parsley and it complimented the dish perfectly...yum!
By foodloversmv
Mill Valley, CA
on July 11, 2011
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AMAZING! Followed it exactly and everyone loved it.
By LynnieM
Jacksonville, FL
on March 14, 2011
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This was phenomenal! I wanted to braise something that wasn't in a tomato-based sauce in an effort to make it feel lighter. This delivered! Having German in my heritage, I've always made Spaetzle with pork, so this matched perfectly. I used her Spaetzle recipe, but omitted the fresh herbs. I also made them the way I was taught, which is to put a small amount of dough onto a plastic cutting board and then slice small amounts of the dough and scape into the boiling water. If you wet your knife first in the boiling water, the dough won't stick. The following two days of leftovers were fantastic as well. This is a keeper!
Read all 19 reviews