Braised short ribs with spring pea puree and mushroom salad

YIELD: 50 portions

For short ribs:
50 (4 oz.) portions of boneless beef ribs, trimmed of all silver skin
2 cups toasted coriander seed, crushed
2 qts. sliced shallots
zest and juice of 12 oranges
salt and pepper, to taste
canola oil to sear
1 gallon brown beef stock
6 carrots, peeled and cut for mirepoix
8 leeks, trimmed and cut for mirepoix
6 bay leaves
3 quarts of veal demiglace 

For spring pea purée: 
6 pounds of English peas shelled 
14 quarts of water
2 cups sugar
3 cups kosher salt
¾ -1 cup vegetable stock
½ cup water
kosher salt and fresh ground white pepper to taste

For sweet turnip and pea shoots salad:
4 turnips, peeled and cut into exact julienne
6 cups pea shoots trimmed to 1-1 ½ inches
¼ cup truffle oil
kosher salt

For fried mushrooms:
20 shiitake mushrooms, medium size, sliced very thin
kosher salt

1. For short ribs: Marinate beef ribs with coriander, shallots, orange zest and orange juice for at least 3 hours and up to overnight.  
2. Remove ribs from marinade, brushing mostly free of all marinade ingredients. Season with salt and pepper and sear in hot pan in canola oil. Sear beef on all sides for even browning.  
3.  Divide ribs into three hotel pans and cover 2/3 to ¾ of the way with beef stock.   Evenly distribute cut carrots, leeks and bay leaves among hotel pans. Cover each hotel pan first with plastic wrap and then with heavy-duty aluminum foil. Place in preheated 350°F oven and braise for 2 ½ to 3 hours or until beef is extremely tender throughout. Meanwhile, heat up the veal demiglace.
4.  Remove braised beef and place into three new hotel pans, keeping warm. Strain braising liquid two times through fine chinois. Add some braising liquid to veal demiglace to capture some of the flavor but not enough to thin it out too much.  Ladle some demiglace over each braised rib to keep moist and give shine you are looking for when plating. Cover hotel pans and keep warm for service.  
5.  For spring pea purée: Place peas in bowl; cover with ice, and toss together to chill peas (this will help return to bright color).
6.  Bring water to rolling boil in large pot and add sugar and salt. Lift small batch of peas with strainer, letting ice fall back into bowl, and add them to water. Do not add too many peas at once as to make water stop boiling or they will lose some of their bright color. Cook peas until tender and fully cooked about 7-10 minutes.  
7.  When peas are tender, remove from boiling water with strainer into bowl of ice water and chill as quickly as possible. Repeat process until all peas are cooked and cooled. Remove from ice water and drain completely.  
8.  Puree peas in Robot-Coup and then scrape puree through tamis. If peas are cooked correctly, some of puree will stick to bottom of tamis; scrape it off.  
9.  Place little vegetable stock and water (not all listed) in blender. Add pea puree (as much as will fit so it does not overflow) and blend. Check consistency of puree. If it is too thick and needs more liquid, add either more stock or water according to taste and blend again. Season with salt and white pepper and blend again. Strain through chinois and refrigerate until needed.  
10. For sweet turnip and pea shoots salad: Toss together salad ingredients and season with truffle oil and salt to taste.
11. For fried mushrooms: Heat fryer to 320°F. When fryer is hot, add shiitake mushrooms and fry until golden brown. Remove from fryer and drain onto paper towel-lined sheet pan to remove grease. Sprinkle immediately with salt. Reserve until service.  
12. To assemble: Gently heat up pea purée in small saucepan. Spoon some pea puree onto bottom of dish or bowl. Place braised short rib on top of puree and spoon some veal demi onto rib.  
13. Place turnips and trimmed pea shoots into small bowl and toss together with truffle oil and salt to taste. Place small amount of turnip/pea shoot salad on top of short rib.
14. Garnish with some fried shiitake mushrooms and drizzle a little more truffle oil around puree to finish.  

Recipe: Lehigh University