Beef Short Rib Ravioli

In honor of the coming months of cooler weather, changing leaves and thick sweaters here is a fabulous ravioli stuffed with tender, succulent braised short ribs (a great winter meal in its own right). These ravioli are labor intensive and time consuming, but a great dish to prepare for a large group of people when you don’t want to worry about timing a variety of sides or overcooking a roast. If you can commit the time and have the patience, it is so very worth the effort. And, even if you don’t find yourself without 10 or so hungry mouths to feed, the ravioli are easy to freeze and eat for many meals to come.

Beef Short Rib Ravioli (serves 8-10)

For the Short Ribs

5 lbs beef short ribs (about 12 short ribs)
2 bottles red wine (Burgundy, Cabernet)
1/2 stick unsalted butter
5 shallots, finely chopped
6 garlic cloves, diced
2 medium carrots, finely chopped
1 medium leek, thinly sliced
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1 large parsnip, finely chopped
Handful thyme sprigs (about 6 sprigs)
Handful parsley (about 6 sprigs)
3 bay leaves
3 cups beef broth
1 28oz can diced tomatoes, liquid drained
Salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 325F

In a heavy saucepan boil the red wine until reduced by half. Set aside

Season the short ribs on both sides with salt and pepper and set aside. In a dutch oven or heavy oven proof skillet heat 2 tbsp of butter until foaming. Brown half of the short ribs on all sides and remove from heat. Repeat with two more tbsp of butter and the second half of the short ribs. Set all short ribs aside and in the same dutch oven cook the vegetables (not the tomatoes) and cook until softened, about 8 minutes. Mix in the diced tomatoes, thyme and parsley and layer the short ribs on top of the vegetables. Pour in the wine and just enough beef broth to cover the meat. Cover and roast for 3.5 hours and until the meat is falling off of the bones.

Remove the short ribs from the liquid and set aside. Pour the braising liquid through a strainer and set both liquid and solids aside.

Remove the meat from the short ribs and pull it with two forks until separated into small pieces. Place all of the meat in a large bowl and then add the left over solids strained from the braising liquid. Mix thoroughly and cool in the refrigerator. This will be your ravioli stuffing.

For the Ravioli (makes about 75 ravioli)

2 1/3 cups AP flour
3 eggs
8 egg yolks
large pinch salt

In a food processor mix eggs, flour and salt until the mixture comes together in a ball. Cover with saran wrap and place in the refrigerator for at least 3o minutes. When you are ready to prepare the ravioli, remove the dough from the refrigerator and cut into quarters. Flour slightly and run through a pasta press, stopping at the second to last setting. Finally lay out  the dough on a floured surface and use a 3″ biscuit cutter to form ravioli one by one. Set each aside on a cookie tray.

When ready to compile the ravioli place about 1 heaping tsp of the short rib filling into the center of each circle. Carefully fold the pasta in half, pushing down on the sides to let out the air. To seal the ravioli and make sure no filling escapes, gently press a fork down on the edges of the dough, pressing both sides together. Set aside until you are ready to cook.

In a steamer cook the pasta for 8 minutes as you would dumplings, flipping after 4 minutes to ensure that both sides cook sufficiently.

For the Sauce

In a sauce pan bring the braising liquid to a boil and cook down until reduced by half and slightly thickened. You may need to whisk the mixture to emulsify the fat from the short ribs. Serve warm over the ravioli.

When ready to serve top the ravioli with the sauce, grated Parmesan and fried sage leaves. Serve immediately.