Beef Short Rib Pasta

When Andrew and I went to Boston in February, I had this delicious pasta one night in their North End that had a beef short rib in it…and I came home wanting to recreate it for myself.  I don’t know what it is about that combination, but I am now obsessed!  The restaurant finished off the plate with a dollop of mascarpone cheese, so of course, I had to do that too!  I made my short ribs in the slow cooker, so the recipe could not be simpler.  Sometimes, my grocery store sells boneless beef short ribs, but on this day, they didn’t, so we used bone-in.  Trust me, it was not a big deal because the meat fell off the bone.  Easy, delicious and topped with mascarpone…what’s better than that?!

This recipe serves four to six.

Shopping List
2 to 3 pounds bone-in beef short ribs
1 onion, chopped
3 cloves of garlic, chopped
2 cups chicken or beef stock
1 (28 oz) can San Marzano Peeled Tomatoes (or whatever peeled tomatoes your store has)
1 (15 oz) can tomato sauce
3 tablespoons Italian seasoning
a good pinch of both salt and pepper
1 pound of pasta (we used a short cut pasta) cooked to al dente
torn basil to garnish
grated Parmesan cheese to garnish
mascarpone cheese to garnish

In your slow cooker, add in the first 8 ingredients.  Cover and cook on low 7 to 8 hours or on high 4 to 5 hours.  About 30 minutes before you’re ready to eat, remove the lid of your slow cooker so that some of the liquid can evaporate (but keep it turned on).  Stir the ingredients all together (the ribs will be so tender!).  When the sauce thickens just a bit, it’s time to serve.  Take your cooked pasta and add several ribs to it along with the sauce.  Garnish with your torn basil, grated Parm and of course, that creamy mascarpone cheese.

Friends!  Dinner will be so darn delicious!