Braised Beef Short Ribs

Preheat the oven to 150°C.

Combine the flour and fennel and season well. Toss the short ribs in the flour, shaking off the excess. Heat the oil and butter in a heavy- based casserole dish over a medium heat and brown the meat on all sides. Do this in batches if necessary. Take out and set aside. Turn the heat down if the flour looks like it will start to catch and burn. Add the onion, carrot, garlic, rosemary and half a teaspoon of salt and sauté until tender and starting to colour.

Add the wine and allow it to bubble up. Cook until reduced by half. Add all the remaining ingredients except the flat leaf parsley and stir together.

Add the beef and any juices to the pot and push down to submerge in the sauce. Cover tightly, place in the oven and cook for 3 hours. Transfer the meat to a platter and cover to keep warm.

Skim off as much oil as possible and if it needs to be reduced, place over a high heat until it reaches the desired consistency. Season. The ribs can be made 1-2 days ahead. Keep refrigerated and scrape the fat off the top before reheating.

To serve: Place the beef in a serving dish and sprinkle with flat leaf parsley. Serve with hot buttered pappardelle noodles or mashed potatoes.

Pantry Note: Passata is a pulp of skinned, seedless, unflavoured, uncooked tomato either slightly chunky or smooth. Italian passata is readily available in supermarkets.