Food and Wine magazine brought us this warming eastern European stew as one of their seven essential slow cooker recipes. We, of course, tweaked it slightly and used our Tangerine Balsamic as the base of the glaze for the ribs. Though the total slow cooker time is about 6 hours, the ribs only go along for half the ride. After three hours set aside the cooked ribs while the beans and stew cook and further develop their flavors. Then glaze the ribs and after 3 minutes under the broiler they’re ready to serve. Enjoy the stew and ribs over a bed of warm buttery noodles.
INGREDIENTS
- 1 cup (8 ounces) Dried Great Northern beans
- 2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
- 1 can (15-ounces) diced tomatoes, with liquid
- 1/3 cup dry white wine
- 3 garlic cloves, smashed or pressed through a garlic press
- 1 rosemary sprig (about 6 inches) plus about 1 teaspoon of minced rosemary leaves
- 3 tablespoons tomato paste, divided
- 2 racks of pork back ribs (about 4 pounds) cut into sections of 2-4 ribs, depending on size
- 3 tablespoons Olive This! Tangerine balsamic
- 1½ tablespoons of honey
- kosher salt
- freshly ground black pepper
DIRECTIONS
Unwrap racks and cut ribs into smaller sections (about 2-4 ribs, depending on size).
Into a large slow cooker, add the 1 cup beans, 2 cups of chicken broth, can of diced tomatoes, 1/3 cup of white wine, minced garlic, rosemary sprig, and 2 tablespoons of the tomato paste. Stir to combine well.
Add the rib sections nestling them into the broth and tomatoes.
Cover and cook on low for about 3 hours until the ribs are tender. When the ribs are done, transfer them to a rimmed baking sheet lined with foil and cover with additional foil. Let the beans continue to cook in the slow cooker for another 3 hours.
While the beans are cooking, prepare your glaze. Combine the 3 tablespoons of Tangerine balsamic, 1½ teaspoons of honey and the remaining 1 tablespoon of tomato paste. Whisk well to combine.
A few minutes before serving, set the oven to broil. Generously salt and pepper the ribs and lay them out on the rimmed baking with the meaty side up. Generously brush the ribs with the glaze to coat evenly.
Broil the ribs placing them about 3 inches away from the heat. Rotate as needed but keep an eye on them, they only need about 3 minutes. If needed, rotate them to brown evenly and heat through.
To finish the beans and broth, stir in the remaining minced rosemary (about 1 teaspoon) and salt and pepper to taste.
Ladle the beans and broth into a deep plate or shallow bowl. If desired, cut the rib sections into individual ribs (we left them in 2-rib sections). Top with 2-3 glazed ribs and serve.
MAKES 5-6 SERVINGS
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