POM-Glazed Braised Short Ribs and Brussels Sprout Salad

Short Ribs:

Preheat oven to 375°F. Season the short ribs well with salt and cracked black pepper. In a large pan, sear the short ribs on high heat, turning over to cook both sides evenly. Prepare a Dutch oven over medium heat with olive oil. Sauté the onion, carrots, celery, garlic and thyme; salt to taste. Let cook about 2 minutes or until tender. Add the pomegranate juice and red wine, bring it to a boil, then reduce heat to a simmer. Add the short ribs, and then pour enough water over until it covers the meat. Add lid to the Dutch oven and move to preheated oven. Cook for 3 hours or until meat is tender. When thoroughly cooked, remove from the oven. Take the short ribs out of the braising juice, remove the bones and clean the rubber meat next to the bone. Portion each to 5- to 6-oz. servings. Let the braising juice cool fully (about 4 hours), and then discard fat. Save the braising juice to make the POM glaze.

POM Glaze:

Preheat oven to 350°F. Strain the cooled braising juice, then bring to a simmer over medium temperature. Allow to reduce halfway. Place the slices of short rib in the Dutch oven again. Once the glaze is ready, pour it over the short ribs. Return the Dutch oven to the preheated oven for about 8 to 10 minutes, or until meat is thoroughly warm. Brussels Sprout Salad with Arils: Once short ribs are thoroughly warmed through, remove from oven and raise oven temperature to 375°F. Prepare fresh pomegranate arils, if necessary.* Reserve 1/2 cup of the arils from fruit and set aside. (Refrigerate or freeze remaining arils for another use.) Thoroughly wash the Brussels sprouts then cut off their ends and halve each one. Place the halves in a bowl and combine with the 1/4 cup canola oil, salt and cracked black pepper to taste; stir around until well covered. Transfer sprouts to a roasting pan and roast in oven for 20 minutes or until golden brown. When ready, remove the halves from the oven and place in a bowl. While still warm, add the pomegranate arils, red onions, queso fresco, cilantro, sherry vinegar and olive oil; check for seasoning.

Assemble and Serve:

Place a serving of the short ribs on each plate, and then pour about 2 tablespoons of the POM Glaze over each serving. Place the Brussels sprout salad with fresh arils on top of the short ribs. Serve this pomegranate recipe.

*To prepare fresh pomegranate arils, score 1 fresh pomegranate and place in a bowl of water. Break open the pomegranate under water to free the arils (seed sacs). The arils will sink to the bottom of the bowl and the membrane will float to the top. Sieve and put the arils in a separate bowl.