Braised beef short ribs with red wine and carrots

Serves 4

These ribs are the by-product of the Sunday rib roast. They would normally get sawn off in the factory, stripped of their meat for mince and discarded, or sold to chefs for the stock pot. Between these ribs you find probably the tastiest morsels on the beast, perfect for traditional British, French and Asian braises where cuts such as flank, brisket or shin would normally be used. Your butcher may have some to hand and if he does would probably part with them for a nominal price - well, hopefully. Or, ask him to save you some..

2kg beef short ribs, cut to about 10cm
2 onions, peeled and roughly chopped
2 sticks of celery, roughly chopped
2tbsp flour
1tsp tomato purée
300ml red wine
2 litres beef stock
3 cloves of garlic, peeled and chopped
1 bay leaf
A few sprigs of thyme
5 black peppercorns
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

For the carrots
250g small carrots, peeled
A good knob of butter
2tsp sugar
1tbsp chopped parsley

Pre-heat the oven to 220C/Gas mark 7. Season and scatter 1tbsp of the flour on the beef f

ribs. Cook them in a roasting tray in the oven with the onion and celery for 30-40 minutes, turning every so often until nicely browned. Transfer the vegetables and ribs to a heavy-bottomed saucepan, leaving any fat in the pan. Add the rest of the flour and tomato purée to the roasting pan and stir over a low heat on top of the stove for a minute. Gradually add the red wine and beef stock, stirring well to avoid lumps forming. Bring to the boil and add to the pan with the ribs and vegetables. Add the bay leaf, thyme and peppercorns, season, cover and simmer gently for 11/2-2 hours, or until the meat is tender. Check it by removing a piece from the pot, it should be almost falling off the bone without being too soft.

Remove the ribs and vegetables from the sauce and continue simmering the sauce until it thickens to a rich gravy-like consistency. You can dilute a little cornflour in water and stir it in if it's not thick enough.

Meanwhile cover the carrots with water, add the butter and sugar and season with salt and pepper. Cook on a medium heat for 10-12 minutes until tender, then drain and toss in the parsley.

To serve, re-heat the ribs in the sauce, discarding the vegetables and herbs, and serve with the carrots spooned over.