Pork Rib Stew with Beans, Tomatoes and Spinach
I can't believe I haven't shared this with you guys yet but I was hired last month to work on a project with Food & Wine Magazine. Yay!
They hired me to do some recipe development and photography for some online content. And by *some* recipe development I mean 50 (50!) recipes in, like, just over 2 weeks (2 weeks!). But in that 2 weeks there was Christmas, and some catering events I had, and bookings at the supper club and basically I didn't sleep or breathe or eat or do anything at all except for work all of December. But now it's January and I've sent in my work and finally have a minute to breathe. Ahhh.
It's a funny thing to not want to be in a place where you love and not want to do want you love. Normally being in my kitchen makes me a very happy woman but after being chained to my stove for exactly 336 hours I was thrilled to be able to walk away from it for a few days. When I finally returned I wanted to make something simple. I wanted a one pot meal I could throw together without barely even thinking about it. Oh ya, and something that would use up some of the three open and nearly full bottles of bubbly that I found hiding amongst the empties on my kitchen counter on New Year's Day. Open and nearly full bottles of bubbles … what's up with that? Seems so unlike me. š
This stew is a little like a cassoulet, which is what my mind had originally intended it to be. But after leaving out the olives and capers and using pork ribs (who uses pork ribs in a cassoulet anyway?), it felt a lot more like a stew to me. When we had the leftovers the next day, I took the meat off the bones and then there was no denying its stew-likeness.
If you make Pork Rib Stew with Beans, Tomatoes and Spinach, make sure to snap a pic and tag @theendlessmeal on Instagram so I can like and comment on your photos. I love seeing TEM recipes you create.
Pork Rib Stew Recipe
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Ingredients
- 4 tablespoons cooking oil, divided
- 2 Ā½ lb pork ribs
- 1 large onion, finely minced
- 4 cloves garlic, finely minced
- 2 28 ounce cans crushed tomatoes
- 3 cups white wine
- 1 handful parsley
- 5 sprigs thyme
- 1 teaspoon dried rosemary, or a few sprigs of fresh rosemary
- 1 teaspoon sage, or a few fresh sage leaves
- 2 bay leaves
- 3 cans white beans
- Sea salt and pepper, to taste
- 5 ounces baby spinach
Instructions
- Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a large heavy-bottomed pot over medium-high heat. Season the ribs with a sprinkle of salt. Working in batches so you don't crowd the pan, brown the ribs on all sides. Remove all the ribs from the pot.4 tablespoons cooking oil, 2 Ā½ lb pork ribs
- Add the remaining oil and onion and cook, stirring often, until the onion is brown. Add the garlic and cook for 1 more minute.1 large onion, 4 cloves garlic
- Add the crushed tomatoes and scrape the bottom of the pot with your wooden spoon to remove any of the tasty browned spots. Add the wine, parsley, thyme, rosemary, sage, and bay leaves. Add the pork back to the pot, ensuring that it is in a single layer, standing the ribs on their ends if need be.2 28 ounce cans crushed tomatoes, 3 cups white wine, 1 handful parsley, 1 teaspoon dried rosemary, 1 teaspoon sage, 2 bay leaves, 5 sprigs thyme
- Cook, covered, over very low heat for 3-4 hours, or until the ribs are very tender. You'll want to keep the ribs at a very low simmer. Once the ribs are tender remove the pot from the heat. Remove the parsley, thyme sprigs, and bay leaves and discard.
- Return to heat, add the beans and heat through. Season to taste with salt and pepper.3 cans white beans, Sea salt and pepper
- To serve, place a few handfuls of spinach in each bowl and top with the stew.5 ounces baby spinach
I made this last night and it was delicious. Was looking for a different way to cook ribs and came across this recipe. The whole family loved it. Thank you!
Nearly screwed up. I saw you using a Dutch Oven and decided to follow suit. But as I was pouring my can of Marzoni tomatoes into my dutch oven, I realized this is going to have a terrible iron flavor, from my cast iron Dutch Oven. Looking at your pics, I saw you used an aluminum Dutch Oven…AhHaaaa. So instead I used a slow cooker.
Hey Carl,
Truth is, I didn’t use that pot to cook the ribs. I have a Le Cruset that I use for braising. It’s enamel coated cast iron. Good call on the slow cooker!
Hi Kristen.
This looks delicious so I am definitely going to try it but I need to scale to two people….how many does your recipe serve? 4 people?
Simon.
Hi Simon,
This will serve more like 6-8 people, especially if you serve a salad or some bread on the side. Hope you enjoy!
Also, this dish makes excellent leftovers so you might want to err on the side of making more š
What a great opportunity!! 50 recipes in two weeks? Around the holidays? You rock! This pork stew look incredible. It has been super cold where I live and it looks like this meal would warm us right up! š
Wow, Kristen – what a huge opportunity! That is just terrific. Good for you!
While I’ve never had to do 50 recipes in 2 weeks, I can sort of relate to just crazy, crazy blogging/freelance weeks. When they’re over, I just tell my husband “make me something or order me something, but I am…not…going…in…that kitchen.” š
Thank you so much, Lori!
I said the same thing to my guy lol. It was crazy how much I wanted nothing to do with my kitchen. Good to hear I’m not the only one who feels that way sometimes!