Whenever I think about fall cuisine, braised meat immediately comes to mind. The chill in the air, the turning leaves, the shorter days conjure up images of hunks of meat slow roasting in the oven for hours and filling the house with tantalizing aromas accompanied by wafts of spices and herbs.

So, when the first day of fall arrived with cloudy skies and intermittent rainfall, we decided to have some friends over for dinner and serve my favorite braised dish, beef short ribs. More often than not, I braise them in wine, but after my success with last week’s slow-roasted chicken from Alison Roman’s Nothing Fancy cookbook, I thought I’d use another one of her recipes to prepare them: “Spiced and Braised Short Ribs with Creamy Potatoes.” What intrigued me most about the recipe was that rather than using the typical Italian red wine and canned tomatoes for the ribs, she opts to take them in what she calls “a spiced and citrusy direction to counter the intensity that is, well, a giant hunk of braised red meat.” Even more appealing was her suggestion to raise the oven temperature from the initial 325 degrees to 425 and cook the dish uncovered for an additional 30 minutes “to crisp up the meat and potatoes and further thicken and reduce the sauce.”

I have to admit that her choice of spices, chili de árbol, cumin seeds, fennel seeds, coriander seeds, and ground cinnamon, gave me some pause, but after watching a video of her preparing the dish, I threw caution to the wind and forged ahead.  The video also led me to vary from the print recipe in two ways. Following her suggestion, I used Better than Bullion Roasted Beef base for the broth and upped the amount of finely chopped lemon. I also was relieved to find that she was forced, as I was, by an availability issue, to use a bunch of little potatoes rather than the four Yukon Golds in the print recipe.

Well, after waiting through the 3½ hours of hunger-inducing aromas with fingers crossed, I have to say that these ribs rivaled, if not surpassed, any that I have ever had before either at home or in a restaurant. They were absolutely delicious; the rich beef flavors were enhanced by the mélange of spices; the chopped lemon gave what one guest declared “a kick” to the dish. The extraordinarily creamy potatoes were the perfect vehicle for carrying the braises lingering flavors of pepper and spice to the palate.

Spiced and Braised Short Ribs with Creamy Potatoes (adapted from a recipe by Alison Roman in Nothing Fancy)

Ingredients:

5 lbs. bone-in short ribs, 1½ -2 inches thick
Kosher salt, freshly ground pepper
2 tablespoons canola or vegetable oil
1 ½ pounds Yukon Gold potatoes (about 4) quartered lengthwise (I substituted 1½ pounds little potatoes halved lengthwise.)
2 small yellow onions, quartered
6 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
4 whole chili de árbol, or 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes, plus more for serving
2 tablespoons cumin seeds
2 tablespoons fennel seeds
1 tablespoon coriander seeds
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 tablespoons tomato paste
½ cup white-wine vinegar
3 cups beef or chicken broth , or water (I made a beef broth with a Better Than Bullion base.)
1 lemon, seeds removed, finely chopped (I used a very large lemon.)

Directions:

1. Season the short ribs with salt and lots of pepper. If you can do this the day before, even better (just store them uncovered and refrigerated).

2. Preheat oven to 325°.

3. Heat the oil in a large (at least 8-quart) Dutch oven over medium heat. Working in batches, sear the short ribs until deeply golden brown all on all sides, 12-15 minutes. Using tongs, transfer the short ribs to a large serving platter or rimmed baking sheet. (Start with fat side down.)

4. Carefully (the pot is hot!) drain fat from the pot, leaving behind about 2 tablespoons of fat and any of the good bits. (I drained it all to a small pot and added back about 3 tablespoons.)

5. Add potatoes, cut side down, and season with salt and pepper. Cook, without disturbing, until they’re nicely browned on one side, about 5 minutes. Give them a stir and continue to cook until browned a little more evenly.

6. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the potatoes to the tray with the meat, leaving any bits and fat behind.

7. Add onions to the pot and season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally until the onions have a nice golden-brown color to them, 5–8 minutes, and midway through, add the sliced garlic. Add the 4 whole chiles, or red-pepper flakes, cumin seeds, fennel seeds, coriander seeds, and cinnamon, stirring to coat and toast the spices.

8. Add the tomato paste and cook, stirring constantly, until it’s started to caramelize on the bottom of the pot (adjust the heat as needed to make sure it doesn’t burn before it caramelizes), about 2 minutes.

9. Add the vinegar, broth, and half the lemon, and bring to a simmer, scraping up all the bits on the bottom of the pot.

10. Return the short ribs meat side down and the potatoes to the pot, nestling everything in (if it’s a tight squeeze just make sure the short ribs get priority seating on the braise train, which is to say make sure they are submerged even if the potatoes are not.

11. Cover and place pot in the oven until short ribs are falling-off-the-bone tender and potatoes are impossibly creamy to the point of almost mush (but not yet mush), 2 ½ to 3 hours. (I went for the full 3 hours, after testing at 2½.)

12. Increase oven temperature to 425°F and remove the lid. Continue to cook until short ribs and any potatoes on top are browned and starting to crisp, and the liquid has reduced to a very nice, rich sauce, 25–35 minutes. (I went for 30 minutes.)

13. Remove from heat and scatter with remaining lemon, plus a bit of crumbled chili before serving.

DO AHEAD: Short ribs can be braised 2 days ahead, kept in the pot they were made in, sealed, and refrigerated. If doing this, you can remove the layer of fat with a spoon before rewarming them, covered either gently on the stove top over medium heat or in a 400°F oven until warmed through and saucy.

Wine Pairing: Pinot Noir, Merlot