Pork Ribs with Potatoes

Preparing the ingredients

1. It’s best to take fairly fatty pork ribs, so they brown better and come out softer. Ideally the rib bone should be thin, with a thick outer layer of meat and fat.

2. If the pork is frozen, move it from the freezer to the refrigerator the night before. That way it thaws well and doesn’t leak. In any case, don’t try to rush the thawing.

   

3. Break the head of garlic into separate cloves without peeling them, as we do when making pork with rice.

   It’s better to use “pink” potatoes with yellow flesh. They cook well and keep their shape. Choose a large onion so the pieces are clearly visible in the stew. The carrot should be small and juicy. If you like, you can add a fresh hot or sweet pepper and 1-2 pinches of ground coriander.

   

4. Pour a cup of boiling water (200 ml) over the saffron or its substitute (marigold petals) and let it steep for about 15 minutes.

Browning the ribs and vegetables

1. In a large, deep skillet with a lid, melt a piece of real butter and add the olive oil.

   The pork and potatoes will be browned in this fat mixture, which improves the flavor of the dish considerably. Rabbit is browned in the same mixture when making rabbit stewed in wine.

   

2. Chop the pork ribs into pieces 4-5 cm long, about the length of a match. If the bone has a thick layer of meat and fat on the outside, you can cut the pieces in half along the bone.

3. Brown the rib pieces over medium heat until nicely golden. Fatty pork browns quickly, so don’t cover the skillet with a lid.

   

4. Peel the onion and carrot. Cut the onion into thick strips lengthwise. Cut the carrot into oblong sticks, fairly thick.

5. Remove the seeds and white inner membranes from the hot pepper and chop it with a knife, not too fine.

6. Add the cut onion, carrot and pepper to the browned ribs all at once, along with all the unpeeled garlic cloves.

7. Keep browning the meat and vegetables over medium heat until the onion is golden and the carrot is soft.

8. Add the spices and salt.

   I want to say a few words about the spice blend. For home cooking I regularly mix simple spices that I use for soups and main dishes. The blend consists of 3 tsp dried sweet red pepper (7 g), coarsely ground, 2 tsp dried hot pepper (5 g) ground coarsely with its seeds, 1 tsp dried granulated garlic, and 2-3 tsp dried aromatic herbs (2–3 g) typical of Mediterranean cuisines: savory, thyme, parsley, oregano and so on. If you like, add 0.5-1 tsp crushed black peppercorns and a little fine “extra” salt. The blend keeps very well in a closed jar, and all the ingredients are easy to find in stores.

   

Stewing the ragout

1. Strain the saffron infusion through a tea strainer and pour it into the skillet with the browned ribs and vegetables.

2. Peel the potatoes, cut them into cubes and add them to the meat and vegetables.

3. Pour in half a cup of dry white wine (100 ml). Bring the liquid to a boil and cover the skillet with a lid.

   

4. Stew under the lid over low heat for 30-40 minutes. Go by the doneness of the potatoes and carrots. Ideally the potatoes will be cooked and their outer layer will start to break down and blend with the liquid, forming a thick sauce.

   

5. The finished ragout may have no free liquid, only a thick sauce. If you like, you can leave the liquid or let it evaporate completely by taking the lid off for a while.

   

Serving

1. Put the pork ribs with potatoes on plates, dividing the meat pieces and garlic cloves evenly. Stewed garlic cloves are delicious.

   

2. Serve the pork ribs with potatoes hot, right away. You can make the ragout spicier by sprinkling a pinch of the spice blend over the finished dish. You can also sprinkle it with finely chopped herbs or just add a sprig of parsley, as you like.