New Orleans chef Alon Shaya pairs braised short ribs with mujadara and adds black-eyed peas for a Southern touch. With its warm Middle Eastern spices, it's the perfect dish for Rosh Hashanah-or any fall or winter dinner party.
Ingredients
For the Short Ribs:
- 5 pounds boneless short ribs - trimmed
- 1 ¾ teaspoons kosher salt - plus more to taste
- 2 tablespoons canola oil - divided
- 4 ½ cups water - divided
- 1 large yellow onion - cut into large wedges
- 1 large carrot - peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces
- ½ head fennel - cut into large wedges
- 5 cloves garlic - peeled and halved
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon ground allspice
- 1 teaspoon fennel seed
- ½ teaspoon ground cardamom
- 1 tablespoon orange zest - ½ orange
For the Caramelized Onions:
- 3 tablespoons canola oil
- 3 tablespoons rendered short rib fat
- 5 cups thinly sliced yellow onion - 2 large yellow onions
- kosher salt - to taste
For the Mujadara:
- 1 cup green lentils - rinsed
- 4 ¾ cups water - divided
- ⅓ cup freshly squeezed orange juice - 2 oranges
- 1 tablespoon orange zest - ½ orange
- 1 whole star anise
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 pinch ground cardamom
- 1 pinch ground allspice
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt - plus more to taste
- 1 cup long-grain white rice - washed and rinsed
- 1 ½ cups cooked black-eyed peas - rinsed (one 15½-ounce can)
- ¼ cup thinly sliced scallions
- ¼ cup roughly chopped parsley
- ¼ cup roughly chopped cilantro
Instructions
Brown the short ribs:
- Preheat the oven to 350°.
- Season the short ribs evenly with 1 ¾ teaspoons of kosher salt.
- Working in 2 batches, heat 1 tablespoon of the canola oil over medium-high heat in a large saucepan.
- When the oil is hot, add half of the short ribs and brown on all sides, 12 to 15 minutes.
- Transfer the short ribs to a 9-by-13-inch baking dish.
- Pour the rendered short rib fat into a small bowl and set aside.
- Deglaze the saucepan with ¼ cup of water and pour over the short ribs.
- Repeat with the remaining canola oil and short ribs.
Sauté the vegetables and braise the short ribs:
- Wipe the saucepan clean and return to medium-high heat.
- Add 1 tablespoon of the rendered fat.
- Add the onion, carrot, fennel and garlic cloves, and cook, stirring occasionally, until browned, 10 to 12 minutes.
- Add the spices and cook until fragrant, 1 minute more.
- Pour the vegetables into the baking dish with the ribs.
- Add the orange zest and pour the remaining water over.
- Cover and cook in the preheated oven until the short ribs are tender, 2½ to 3 hours.
While the short ribs are cooking, make the caramelized onions:
- In a large, wide Dutch oven or heavy-bottomed pot over medium-high heat, add the canola oil and rendered short rib fat.
- Add the onions and cook, stirring often, until golden brown and caramelized, 15 to 20 minutes.
- Reduce the heat to low and transfer half of the caramelized onions to a paper towel-lined plate.
- Season with salt.
Make the mujadara:
- To the remaining caramelized onions, add the lentils, 3 cups of the water, orange juice and zest, star anise, cinnamon stick, bay leaf, ground cardamom and allspice.
- Season with ½ teaspoon of salt, then raise the heat and bring to a boil.
- Cover, lower the heat to a simmer and cook until the lentils are tender and most of the water has absorbed, 35 to 40 minutes.
- When the lentils are ready, add the rice, black-eyed peas and remaining 1½ cups of water.
- Cover and simmer until the rice is done, about 15 minutes.
- Remove from the heat and let sit, covered, for 5 minutes, before removing the lid and fluffing with a fork.
- Add the reserved caramelized onions, then taste and adjust the seasoning as needed. Makes about 7 cups mujadara.
To serve:
- Transfer the mujadara to a large serving platter.
- Slice the short ribs and place them on top of the mujadara, along with some of the braising liquid.
- Garnish with the scallions, parsley and cilantro.