Recipe: melt-in-the-mouth short ribs by Sergio Herman

In his new cookbook Colorful Cooking, Sergio Herman shares his love of cooking, family and travel. With recipes full of explosive flavors and colors, he inspires you to head into the kitchen with simple ingredients and a touch of daring. No rules, just pure cooking pleasure, as these melt-in-the-mouth short ribs prove.

Sergio: “Personally, I like to prepare short rib in January and February, traditionally the gloomiest months of the year. I came up with this Korean style served with a fresh salsa verde. This is comfort food with a capital C.“

Short ribs

• Preheat the oven to 150 °C. Remove the short ribs from the refrigerator at least 30 minutes before cooking so they can come to room temperature.
• Pat the short ribs dry with paper towels and season generously with salt and pepper. Heat the olive oil in an ovenproof roasting pan over medium-high heat. Brown the short ribs for 3 to 4 minutes per side. For a beautiful crust, glaze them with char siu sauce (which you can buy at an (Oriental) supermarket). Turn off the heat and pour enough beef stock into the roasting pan so that the short ribs are covered approximately halfway.
• Place the lid on the roasting pan, or cover it with aluminum foil, and put the roasting pan in the preheated oven. Cook the short ribs slowly for 3 to 4 hours, basting them with the cooking liquid about every 30 minutes. Check halfway through the cooking time that there is still enough liquid in the pan and add a little extra stock if necessary. The short ribs are ready when the meat is melt-in-the-mouth tender and easily falls off the bone.
• Pull the cooked meat from the bone and, if necessary, reduce the liquid a little further on the stovetop until it forms a thick gravy.

Kimchi oil

Warm the kimchi in a small pan over low heat until lukewarm and add the olive oil. Blend it a few times with an immersion blender until the kimchi is slightly crushed and mixed with the oil. Remove the pan from the heat and cover with plastic wrap. Let the kimchi oil infuse for 2 hours and store it in a sealed container in the refrigerator.

Potatoes

• Wash the potatoes thoroughly and leave the skins on. Fill a large pan with water, add the thyme, garlic and some salt and pepper, and bring to a boil.
• Boil the potatoes for 15 to 20 minutes until tender. Drain them as soon as they are cooked and let them cool briefly until you can hold them. Carefully peel the skins from the potatoes. The skin should come off easily after cooking.

Salsa verde

In a bowl, mix the mustard, sushi vinegar and olive oil into a salsa. Add the parsley, cilantro, anchovies, garlic and lemon zest. Mix well and season with salt and pepper.

Sea lavender

Heat the olive oil in a pan over medium heat and briefly fry the shallot and garlic until soft and lightly golden. Add the sea lavender and fry briefly until just cooked but still crisp; this takes about 1 minute. Season with pepper. 

Finishing the dish

Bring the gravy and meat to a boil in a roasting pan over medium heat. Add the potatoes until everything is thoroughly hot and the liquid around the meat and potatoes has thickened. Stir in the sea lavender. Divide the salsa verde, sesame seeds and burrata cream over the top, and finish with the kimchi oil and some fleur de sel.

Basic burrata cream recipe

Makes approx. 200 grams

• 2 balls of burrata
• 20 ml olive oil
• fine sea salt
• freshly ground black pepper

Place 1 ball of burrata in a bowl. Tear open the second ball of burrata over the bowl and add the creamy interior. We do not use the ‘skin’ (but it is delicious in a salad!). Pour in the olive oil and blend with an immersion blender until smooth and creamy. Season with salt and pepper. The burrata cream can be stored covered in a container in the refrigerator for a few days.