Crock Pot Braised Short Ribs on Cauliflower puree with Apricots and Pistachios

Disclaimer: This recipe is a combination of recipes and ideas from other cooks/sites on the internet.

Short Ribs:

Ingredients:

10-15 short ribs - on the bone

6 garlic cloves, slightly crushed, skin removed

3 carrots

2 onions

3 ribs of celery

10-15 mushrooms, quartered

6 dried apricots, slivered

1 bottle of dry red wine

3-4 sprigs of fresh thyme

1. Season the short ribs with salt and pepper

2. In a skillet, heat some oil and sear the ribs on all sides

3. Place the seared ribs in the bottom of a crock pot

4. Roughly chop the carrots, onions and celery

5. Sauté the veg in the skillet that you seared the meat

6. As the veg start to soften and the onions start to become translucent, add the mushrooms. thyme sprigs, and garlic

7. Once the mushrooms soften, add about 3/4 of the bottle of wine

8. Reduce until about 1/4 of the liquid has evaporated

9. Add the contents of the skillet to the crock pot

10. Add the apricots to the top

11. Set the crock pot on low and cook for 8 hours

12. Carefully remove the meat, trying to retain the bone inside the meat

13. Strain the veg - separate out the mushrooms and apricots; and put the braising liquid into a large skillet

14. Reduce the braising liquid by half

Cauliflower puree

Ingredients:

1/2 head of a medium sized cauliflower

30g olive oil (or butter in you're making it dairy)

200g vegetable broth

110g soy milk

80g soy "cream" (or heavy cream if you're making it dairy)

1. Chop the cauliflower into relatively small pieces

2. Sauté the cauliflower in the olive oil until just starting to caramelize

3. Add the vegetable broth, cover, and simmer until you can start to mush the pieces with spoons (maybe 15 minutes or so)

4. Add the soy milk and a good amount of salt. Continue to simmer for another 3-5 minutes

5. Drain the remaining liquid - being careful to reserve at least 50g of the "soup"

6. Add to the strained cauliflower to a blender and blend until smooth

7. Add the soy "cream" and 50g of the "soup"

8. Blend until airy and creamy

9. Season to taste

Pistachios:

Ingredients:

100g pistachio meats

Good pinch of salt

1. Heat a cast iron skillet

2. Add the pistachio meats and salt

3. Continue to agitate the skillet until the meats are just starting to caramelize and are slightly crunchy when chewed

Plating:

1. Place a healthy dollop of the cauliflower puree onto a small plate, and shmear it into a teardrop shape with the back of a spoon

2. Carefully place a short rib onto the thick part of the puree shmear. The bone should be vertical

3. Spoon a tablespoon of the reduced braising liquid over the meat

4. Add some of the reserved mushrooms and apricots

5. Sprinkle a few pistachios around the meat and puree