Braised Beef Short Ribs with Tortelloni in a Marsala Cream Sauce (Slow Cooker Recipe)
Servings: 4-5 generous servings
Prep Time: 1 hourhour
Cook Time: 9 hourshours20 minutesminutes
Total Time: 10 hourshours20 minutesminutes
Ingredients
4poundsbone-in short ribs, meat and bones separated
Salt and pepper
2Tbspvegetable oil
2garlic cloves, minced
1onion, chopped medium
1carrot, peeled and chopped medium
1Tbspminced fresh thyme or 1 tsp dried
2Tbspminced fresh basil or 2 tsp dried
3Tbspall-purpose flour
2cupsmarsala cooking wine
2tspbalsamic vinegar
2cupslow-sodium chicken broth
14.5ozcan diced tomatoes, drained
2bay leaves
2Tbspolive oil
3large portobello mushrooms, remove gills, cut into quarters and sliced
1/2cupheavy cream
2small tomatoes, seeded and diced
9oz.package of refrigerated cheese tortelloni
Instructions
Place beef bones in a microwavable casserole dish and microwave, 10 to 12 minutes; add to slow cooker.
Use paper towels to dry short rib meat and add salt & pepper. Heat 1 Tbsp olive oil in a French oven at medium high heat for 4-5 minutes. In batches (if needed), brown short ribs on each side for about 7 to 10 minutes; add to slow cooker top of the bones. (Repeat for each batch.)
Add garlic, onion, carrot, thyme, and basil to French oven and cook over medium-high heat until onions are translucent, 4 to 6 minutes. Add flour and cook for 1 minute, mixing the entire time.
Whisk in wine and vinegar, use the whisk to scrape up browned bits at the bottom of your French oven. Reduce for about 5 minutes until the alcohol is reduced. Add drained tomatoes to wine sauce and simmer for another 2-3 minutes. Add wine sauce to slow cooker.
Add broth and stir in as best as you can in slow cooker. Add bay leaves to slow cooker. Cover and cook for 9 to 11 hours on low or 5 to 7 hours on high.
Remove short ribs to platter and add foil but do not cover tightly. Allow meat to rest at least 15-20 minutes before slicing.
Using a strainer on top of a fat separator (not the one it came with because the holes are too big), strain braising liquid into fat separator. Set aside and discard solids.
Heat 2 Tbsp olive oil at medium heat in a braising pan or non-stick skillet for about 2 minutes. Add mushrooms and cook for about 4-5 minutes. Remove and place mushrooms on a clean plate.
Add set aside braising liquid to pan and heat for about 5 minutes. While the sauce is being heated, start a large pot of salted boiling water and cook tortelloni according to package directions.
Reduce the sauce in the pan's heat to low. Add mushrooms, half of the diced tomatoes and heavy cream. Reduce sauce for another 4-5 minutes and then leave on warm until you're ready to serve with tortelloni. Garnish dishes with remaining diced tomatoes.
Notes
From The Little Kitchen, inspired by Olive Garden's Braised Beef & Tortelloni