Sticky herb and lemon ribs

Serves:

Serves 4-6

Sticky herb and lemon ribs ingredients

• 1 medium onion, peeled and quartered
• 2 cloves garlic, peeled and bruised
• 2 sticks celery, roughly chopped
• 1 lemon, quartered
• 1 tsp black peppercorns
• 1 cup (250ml) white wine
• 1 tbsp salt
• 4 cups (1L) water
• 1 kg pork ribs
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tbsp maple syrup
• 2 tbsp thyme leaves

For the rice salad

• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• 1 tbsp white wine vinegar
• 2 cups cooked long grain rice
• 1/2 cup cherry tomatoes, quartered
• 1/2 cup cucumber, diced
• 1/2 cup carrot, peeled and diced

Method

Place the onion, garlic, celery, lemon quarters, peppercorns, white wine, salt and water in a large saucepan on medium heat. Bring to the boil then add the ribs, reduce heat and cover. Simmer for 30 minutes. Transfer the ribs to a roasting tray, pour over half of the reserved cooking liquid, cover with plastic and leave to cool in the fridge for a few hours, preferably overnight.

For the rice salad, combine the olive oil, lemon juice and vinegar in a jar and shake. Toss this through cooled, cooked rice with the cucumber, tomato and carrot.

Preheat oven to 220°C (200°C fan-forced) and place the ribs on a wire rack over a tray lined with foil. Combine the olive oil, maple syrup and thyme leaves and brush mixture over the ribs. Roast for 10 minutes then baste again with the olive oil/maple syrup mixture and cook for another 10-15 minutes or until ribs are caramelised and golden all over.

Serve ribs with the rice salad.

Find related ribs recipes

• BBQ pork ribs
• Lamb and tomato hotpot
• Sticky pineapple pork ribs
• Teriyaki chicken spare ribs

Serving Suggestions

Note

• This is a very basic rice salad recipe – you can swap the vegetables listed here with any that you have on hand. I just find it works better when you cut everything fairly small!
• ‘Aussie’ style pork ribs come as one large connected strip of ribs that are cooked whole then cut into pieces.
• This recipe was created by Sophie Hansen for Kidspot, New Zealand’s best recipe finder: You can follow Sophie on Local is Lovely, Facebook, Twitter or Pinterest.