Joao Monteiro's recipe: glazed pork ribs, smoked cabbage rolls, apples and celeriac

Joao Monteiro, Portuguese-American chef of the La Bottiglieria restaurant in Pigneto, a historic working-class neighborhood in Rome today the center of an effervescent nightlife, and of the latest generation of restaurants, proposes a dish that is the fruit of his various international experiences. Simple but very intriguing.

Ingredients

1kg Pork ribs
1 purple cabbage
400g celeriac
100g butter
100g milk
3 apples
150ml Apple cider vinegar
50ml of honey
50g cane sugar
Smoked paprika
200ml soy sauce

40 ml tomato puree
2 tbsp dijon mustard

1 medium Tropea onion
Salt to taste
pepper to taste
To taste tarragon

Method

Wash the cabbage well and remove the outer leaves. In a saucepan add a little vinegar with a little salt, this step will help keep its purple color. When tender, remove and cool in water and ice, keep the part for later to make rolls.
Cut the remaining cabbage into quarters, season with olive oil, salt and pepper and cover individually in aluminum foil.
Bring to a high flame for about 5 minutes. this will give the smoky flavor. Then we take them to the preheated oven at 150 degrees for about 45min to collect and let them rest.
Cut into julienne strips, season with a drop of vinegar, a pinch of sugar and salt and pepper to taste and make rolls with the previously boiled leaves.
Create a paste by whisking together the soya, brown sugar, dijon, onion, tomato puree, smoked paprika and a little apple cider vinegar and honey.
Season the ribs abundantly and leave to marinate for about 5 hours.
Heat the oven to 90°c
Place the ribs together with all the marinade in a baking tray and cover everything with aluminum foil
Cook the ribs for about 8 hours
After cooked, remove the bones gently and cut into portions.
Bring the celeriac previously cut into cubes to a saucepan together with the milk with salt and pepper, when cooked, blend with the help of an immersion blender by beating with the butter at room temperature.
To make the green apple relish: Peel the apples, cut into brunoise and season them with honey, salt and the vinegar. Put under vacuum for at least 3 hours.
For the tarragon-apple sauce:
Cook the whole apples at 150°C until softened, remove the pulp and blend together with the tarragon. Season with salt.
Finally, grill the ribs and glaze them with the cooking liquid until you have the desired colour.