Dana Kaburga Beef Ribs

Cook Time 4 hours 30 minutes

Servings 6

Ingredients

For the ribs

1.5kg beef short ribs

2 tsp salt

2 tsp black pepper

2 tbsp vegetable oil

5 garlic cloves, crushed

2 large onions, chopped roughly

1 large celeriac, chopped roughly

2 celery sticks, chopped

50g Turkish red pepper paste

500ml beef stock

2 cinnamon sticks

5 star anise

5 cloves

5 bay leaves

1 bunch lemon thyme

For the smoked eggplant

2 large eggplants

100ml extra virgin olive oil

2 garlic cloves

2 tsp cumin

Salt

1 lemon juice

1 tbsp molasses

For the tahini hibes

100g tahini

75ml water

1 garlic clove, grated

2 tbsp molasses

2 tbsp cumin

2 tbsp smoked paprika

1 lemon, juiced

For the date jam

250g dates

300ml water

1 preserved lemon quarter (including skin)

100g extra virgin olive oil

Method

Preheat the oven to 160C.

For the ribs, season the beef with salt & pepper. Heat vegetable oil in a large pot on high heat. Add some of the ribs and brown on all sides. Remove and repeat with the remaining ribs. Remove ribs, turn the heat down to medium, and add onion and garlic to the same pot and cook for two minutes. Add celeriac and celery and cook for another five minutes until the celeriac is caramelized. Then add in red pepper paste and cook for one minute more. Add the stock, thyme, bay leaves and all the spices. Put the ribs back into the broth cover and cook in the oven 3-4 hours or until the meat falls easily off the bone. Remove the beef from the stock, take out the bones and keep warm. Strain the stock into a pot on high heat, and reduce for 20-30 minutes. Then, add molasses, check the seasoning and cook for a further five minutes before removing from the heat.

Prick eggplants all over with a fork, then place directly over a medium-low flame on the stovetop. Cook for 20-30 minutes, turning constantly, until eggplants are charred all over and soft. When the eggplants are cool, gently peel away all the skin from the flesh, discarding skin. Put the eggplants into a blender along with garlic cloves, lemon juice, cumin, molasses and blitz until combined. While the motor is running, add the oil slowly to emulsify and season with salt. Sieve into a bowl and keep warm.

For the tahini, mix all ingredients all until the mixture is smooth and set aside.

For the date jam, in a deep pot add water and dates and bring to the boil. Reduce heat, cover and cook for 15 minutes. Take off the heat and set aside for five minutes. Pour the mixture into a blender and blitz then add in preserved lemon, and blitz for five minutes. With the motor running, slowly add the oil until the mixture emulsifies. Pour into a bowl and set aside on the room temperature.

Serving idea

Put 150g of the beef ribs on the side of the plate and smear the tahini hibes in the middle of the plate. On one side, put a tablespoon of eggplant puree, and on the other side of the plate the date jam. Serve the jus at the table.