FANCYPANTS MEALS
tapas party
We certainly don’t want you living in social isolation during your Whole30, but the idea of going to (or hosting!) a party may be intimidating. We promise, it’s easier than you think, even though your days of serving corn chips alongside a jar of nacho cheese dip as “party fare” are long in the past.
If not, they really should be. Allow us to help.
This dish is perfect to bring to a potluck, or as the main course for a book club meeting, baby shower, or football party. As it’s just as good served cold as warm, you have a lot of flexibility in how far in advance you prepare the cooked ingredients. For now, let’s assume you’re having a small 7:00 p.m. get-together at your house and you’ll be serving the cooked foods warm.
The ribs will take 8 hours in the slow cooker, so start preparations in the morning, and put the ribs in to cook by 10:30 a.m. After you get the ribs going, prepare the balsamic glaze. This isn’t hard—once it boils, just reduce the heat to low, set a kitchen timer for 20 minutes, and go about your business. In fact, use this time to prepare the balsamic vinaigrette, too! When the glaze is done, allow it to cool, then transfer to a sealed storage container, and leave on the counter or in your pantry—no need to refrigerate.
Around 5:15 p.m., preheat the oven and start marinating the mushroom caps in the balsamic vinaigrette (the dressing, not the glaze). Coat the peppers with olive oil and put in the oven at 5:30.
You’ll pull your peppers out to cool around 6:10 p.m., give or take. The mushrooms go in the oven at the same time, on the same pan. At 6:30, the mushrooms come out and start cooling. By 6:40, you can peel the skin off the peppers and slice up the mushrooms.
And look! Your short ribs are done cooking and staying nice and warm in the slow cooker—perfect timing. Reduce the sauce, shred the rib meat, and toss them together in a bowl. Then start stuffing the peppers and securing with toothpicks.
You may have an early-bird guest or two arriving right about now—also great timing. Recruit them to help you by plating the sun-dried tomatoes, mushrooms, and anchovies as you stuff the peppers and add them to your serving dish. When the plates have been arranged, drizzle the peppers and mushrooms with the balsamic glaze, sprinkle with the capers and salt, and serve.
Oh, we forgot to mention, you’ve got time to get dressed and fix your hair while the peppers roast and the mushrooms marinate. Just don’t forget to don an apron when you come back—do you know how hard it is to get balsamic glaze out of cotton?
braised beef short ribs
Serves 8
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 8 hours
Total Time: 8 hours 10 minutes
- 3 teaspoons salt
- 2 teaspoons black pepper
- 3 pounds beef short ribs, trimmed
- 4 to 6 tablespoons cooking fat
- 1 onion, quartered
- 6 cloves garlic, peeled
- 4 sprigs fresh thyme
- 2 cups apple cider
Mix 2 teaspoons of the salt and all the pepper in a small bowl and use to season the short ribs evenly on both sides.
In an oven-safe heavy pot or Dutch oven, melt 4 tablespoons of the cooking fat over medium-high heat. When the fat is hot, sear the short ribs until each side is golden brown, about 1 minute on each side. (You’ll likely have to do this in batches, adding another tablespoon of cooking fat to each new batch.)
Transfer all the ribs to a slow cooker. Add the onion, garlic, thyme, apple cider, and 8 cups of water and cook on low for 8 hours. When done, the short ribs should be fork-tender.
Transfer the short ribs to a bowl and shred, discarding the bones and excess fat. Ladle the cooking liquid, onion, and garlic into a food processor or blender, removing the thyme stems, and blend on low until thoroughly mixed. Transfer the blended sauce to a medium saucepot and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Cook until thickened, about 5 minutes. Season the sauce with the remaining 1 teaspoon salt.
Transfer the shredded short ribs to a serving bowl, toss with the sauce, and reserve. (You’ll be using all of it to stuff the peppers for your tapas plate.)
short rib–stuffed peppers, sun-dried tomatoes, portabella mushrooms, and anchovies
Serves 8
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 50 to 60 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour 20 minutes, plus cooking the short ribs
- 4 portabella mushroom caps, stems removed
- ½ cup Balsamic Vinaigrette
- 1 cup balsamic vinegar
- 8 bell peppers (red, yellow, or orange)
- ¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
- Braised Beef Short Ribs
- 2 cups sun-dried tomatoes in oil
- 2 cups Kalamata or black olives, pitted
- 4 ounces anchovies in oil, drained
- 2 tablespoons capers, drained
- 1 teaspoon coarse salt
Preheat the oven to 450°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
In a shallow dish or plastic re-sealable bag, marinate the mushroom caps in the prepared balsamic vinaigrette for 30 minutes at room temperature.
While the mushrooms are marinating, prepare the balsamic glaze: bring the balsamic vinegar to a boil in a small saucepan over medium-high heat. Turn the heat down to medium low and simmer until reduced by about half, about 20 to 30 minutes. Remove from the heat, allow to cool, and reserve. It should be thick enough to stick to your spoon, but still easy to drizzle. (You can do this step up to a week ahead of time; store in a covered container at room temperature.)
In a large mixing bowl, coat the bell peppers with the olive oil, and place on the prepared baking sheet. Roast in the oven for 30 to 40 minutes, turning once during cooking, until the skins are wrinkled and charred. Transfer the peppers to a bowl and cover with aluminum foil. Allow the peppers to cool for 30 minutes.
While the peppers are cooling, reduce the oven heat to 350°F. Remove the mushroom caps from the marinade and discard the vinaigrette. Using the same lined baking sheet, roast the mushrooms in the oven for 10 minutes, then flip them over and roast for another 10 minutes, until the center is soft. Let cool, then slice into strips.
Rub the charred skin off the peppers, leaving just the roasted flesh. Remove the stems and seeds, and cut each pepper into four equal quarters. Fill each pepper quarter with a spoonful of short ribs, wrap the pepper around the meat, and secure with a toothpick.
Arrange the stuffed peppers, roasted mushroom strips, sun-dried tomatoes, olives, and anchovies on one or more serving dishes. Drizzle a very thin stream of the balsamic glaze over the stuffed peppers and mushrooms. Sprinkle with the capers and coarse salt and serve warm or cold.
