Caldo de Costilla Bogotano

Ingredients

• 900 g bone-in beef short ribs, cut into 4 pieces
• 2.5 litres cold water
• 4 medium floury potatoes (about 600 g), peeled and halved
• 6 spring onions, white parts left whole and green parts sliced
• 5 garlic cloves, lightly crushed
• 1 large bunch coriander, stalks and leaves separated
• 2 tsp fine salt
• 1/4 tsp ground cumin
• 1 lime, cut into wedges

Before you cook

• Rinse the beef ribs under cold water and pat them dry.
• Peel the potatoes and cut each one in half.
• Crush the garlic cloves under the flat of a knife and leave the skins on.
• Separate the coriander stalks from the leaves and tie the stalks into a small bundle with kitchen string.
• Trim the spring onions, keep the white parts whole and slice the green tops thinly.
• Cut the lime into wedges and set them aside for the table.

Steps

1. Put the beef ribs into a large pot and pour over the two and a half litres of cold water.
2. Bring the pot to a gentle boil over medium-high heat, which takes about fifteen minutes.
3. Skim off the grey foam that rises to the surface, and keep skimming for five minutes until the broth runs clear.
4. Add the crushed garlic, the whole white spring onions, the bundle of coriander stalks, the salt and the cumin.
5. Turn the heat down until the surface barely trembles, then set the lid on ajar.
6. Simmer the broth for one hour, checking now and then that it never comes to a rolling boil.
7. Lift out and discard the coriander stalks and the spent spring onion whites.
8. Slide in the halved potatoes and simmer for a further twenty-five minutes, until a knife slips through them with no resistance.
9. Taste the broth and add more salt until it tastes clean and savoury rather than flat.
10. Ladle a rib and a potato half into each bowl and pour the hot broth over.
11. Scatter the sliced green spring onion and the coriander leaves over the top.
12. Serve straight away with lime wedges, an arepa and a mug of hot chocolate.