Estofado de Catalan

5 pounds short ribs of beef -- (5 to 5 1/2)
4 Tablespoons olive oil
2 Cups yellow onions -- cut into chunks (about 2 medium onions)
1 Cup carrots -- cut into chunks (about 2 carrots)
1/2 Cup celery -- cut into chunks (about 1 stalk of celery)
2 teaspoons mashed garlic (about 2 cloves)
2 Cups red wine
1/2 Cup tomato paste
8 ounces canned plum tomatoes -- cut into chunks
12 Cups beef stock or good quality -- low-sodium, store-bought beef stock
1 sprig fresh thyme

Sauce:
2 Cups dry sherry
3 Tablespoons unsweetened chocolate
1 Tablespoon chopped fresh thyme
1/2 Tablespoon chopped fresh marjoram
2 Tablespoons finely grated orange zest (about 2 oranges)
2 Tablespoons unsalted butter

Gremolata:
1 teaspoon finely grated orange zest
3 Teaspoons finely chopped fresh Italian parsley
Extra virgin olive oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

To make the short ribs, preheat oven to 300 degrees. Generously salt and pepper the ribs. In a large casserole pan, heat 4 tablespoons olive oil over
high heat. Add the ribs and brown on all sides until golden, about 4-5 minutes. Remove the ribs and set aside.

Saute carrots, celery, onion and garlic in the same pan until well caramelized, about 10-15 minutes.

Add red wine and cook over high heat until the red wine is reduced by half. Stir in tomato paste, tomatoes and thyme. Add browned ribs and beef stock.
Bring to a boil, cover and bake for approximately 3 hours, or until meat pulls easily away from the bone. A long, slow braise is the key here.
Cooking at too high of a temperature will result in a flavorless, tough, stringy meat. It tastes even better if its made the day before. No rushing
necessary!

To make the sauce, remove the meat from the pan and set aside. Strain the remaining sauce through a colander, and then through a fine mesh strainer,
into a large casserole pan. Add the sherry and reduce the sauce by half. Stir in the chocolate, thyme, marjoram, orange zest and butter. Taste and
season with salt and pepper. Return the ribs to the pan and simmer until heated through, approximately 2 minutes.

To make the gremolata, mix together parsley and orange zest in a small bowl.

Serving Ideas : To serve, mound 1/2 cup of starch of your choice, such as mashed potatoes in the center of 6 warm shallow bowls. Put 2-3 short ribs on
top of the mashed potatoes. Spoon the sauce over the short ribs, and sprinkle with the gremolata.

Serves: 6

This recipe is quite a bit of work but the results are "dinner party" spectacular.

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