Barbecued short ribs with tomato salsa

Ribs are delicious on their own, but if you want to prepare a condiment, you can't go wrong with a tasty tomato salsa.

Credit: Rachel Tolosa Paz

• serves

  4

• prep

  20 minutes

• cook

  30 minutes

• difficulty

  Easy

Ingredients

• 2 kg (4 lb 6 oz) beef short ribs
• 35 g (1¼ oz) coarse sea salt, plus extra to serve
• crusty bread, to serve

Tomato salsa

• 3 ripe tomatoes
• 1 garlic clove, finely chopped
• 1 tsp chopped red chilli
• 2 tsp fresh lemon juice
• 1 tsp finely chopped flat-leaf parsley
• pinch of sea salt

Instructions

1. To make the salsa, remove and discard the cores of the tomatoes. Cut a small cross in the base of each tomato and place in a heatproof bowl. Cover with boiling water and let stand for no more than 1 minute, then drain and peel the tomatoes. Discard the skins. Roughly chop the tomatoes and place in the bowl of a food processor, along with the remaining salsa ingredients. Process to make a smooth sauce. Transfer to a bowl and refrigerate until needed. The salsa will keep in an airtight container in the fridge for 3–4 days.

2. Preheat a barbecue grill to high.

3. To prepare the beef ribs, use a small sharp knife to remove the white membrane from the bone side of the ribs by slicing the membrane at one end of the meat and then carefully pulling it off. Alternatively, ask your butcher to do this for you.

4. Rub the salt all over the ribs.

5. Place the ribs, bone side down, on the grill. Close the barbecue lid and cook for 15 minutes, or until a dark crust forms. Turn the ribs over and cook for a further 15 minutes, then transfer to a plate, cover with foil and rest for 10–15 minutes.

6. Cut between the ribs and serve with the tomato salsa, extra sea salt and crusty bread on the side.

Recipe from The Food of Argentina by Ross Dobson and Rachel Tolosa Paz, Smith Street Books, RRP $44.99

Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.