Beef short ribs with harissa, vegetables and orzo

The expert way to cook beef short ribs

Serves

4 - 6

Prep Time

25 mins

Cook Time

3 hrs 15 mins

Steal the show and transform your New Zealand beef short ribs into this harissa spiked dinner the family will love. Slow cooked until the meat falls off the bone and smothered in a spicy harissa, the vegetable loaded orzo is the perfect accompaniment. Cooked in the same dish, it's a one pan dinner that's ideal for these chilly winter evenings.

Georgia van Prehn

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Ingredients

For the beef short rib

1kg Quality Mark beef short ribs
3-4 Tbsp harissa paste

For the vegetables and orzo

1 Tbsp oil
1 onion
finely diced
1 red capsicum
finely diced
½ a pumpkini
skin removed and cut into 1cm cubes
4 garlic cloves
crushed
½ a lemon
thinly sliced
1 red chilli
deseeded and finely sliced
¼ cup currantsi
1 Tbsp sweet paprika
1 Tbsp dried mint
3 silverbeet, leaves & stems, fresh, rawi
white stalks removed and leaves torn into bite-sized pieces
250g orzo
540ml cold water
1 handful chopped fresh parsley

For the yoghurt tahini sauce

1 cup Greek style yoghurt
unsweetened
1 Tbsp tahini
juice of ½ lemon
1 garlic clove
crushed
½ cup slivered almonds
roughly chopped

To serve

seasonal green vegetables
steamed

Method

Preheat oven to 170°C or 150°C fan bake.

Take a deep roasting dish, wide enough to fit beef short ribs in a single layer, and line with baking paper.

Rub beef short ribs with harissa, about a tablespoon of harissa per rib and season with salt and pepper. Place in roasting dish as you prepare, cover with foil and place in the oven. Roast for 2 ½ - 3 hours or until tender and falling away from the bone, remove from oven, set aside and turn the oven up to 200°c or 180°c fan bake.

Place an ovenproof pan such as cast iron, over medium-high heat. Add olive oil, onion, red capsicum and pumpkin and cook until the vegetables take on a little colour.

Add garlic, lemon and chilli and cook for one minute. Add currants, sweet paprika, dried mint and silverbeet leaves.

Stir to coat then add orzo, cold water, a pinch of salt and a grind of black pepper. Stir well.

Place beef short ribs on top. Bring water to a simmer, not allowing to boil, then immediately place in oven for 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, place all yoghurt tahini ingredients in a bowl, except the almonds, and whisk until smooth. Stir in chopped almonds and season with salt and pepper.

Remove orzo from oven and rest for at least five minutes to allow the orzo to crust up further around the sides of pan. Garnish with parsley and serve with yoghurt tahini sauce.

Steam the seasonal greens to serve on the side.

Tips and tricks:

If you don’t have an ovenproof pan, we would recommend starting this in your frying pan or pot and transferring contents to a roasting dish when you are ready to add orzo.
Instead of using cold water, pop kettle on and add boiling water just before it goes in the oven.
You may need to cook it in the oven for a further two-three minutes but still set your timer for 15 minutes and check so it doesn't overcook.
If you want to use your silverbeet stalks, they can be finely sliced and added in with the onion at the beginning of cooking.
You can easily substitute the pumpkin for kumara or carrot, and spinach can replace the silver beet. Use what you have!
The orzo works well with any leftover roast meat or slow cooked meat.