Ingredients

Makes 6 servings

　　1 rack (about 3 1/2 pounds) pork spare ribs

　　Sea or kosher salt

　　Freshly ground black pepper 1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil

　　12 cloves garlic, peeled

　　4 fresh or dried bay leaves

　　1 cup (or as needed) Mixed Meat Stock (page 75), Chicken Stock (page 74), or canned reduced-sodium chicken broth

　　1 cup dry white wine

　　1/2 cup red-wine vinegar

　　2 tablespoons honey

　　1 to 2 teaspoons crushed hot red pepper, pulverized or chopped fine

　　

Step 1

Cut the rack of spare ribs between the bones into single ribs (or ask your butcher to do this for you). Preheat the oven to 425° F.

　　

Step 2

Pat the spare ribs dry and season them with salt and pepper. Toss them in a roasting pan into which they fit comfortably with the olive oil, garlic, and bay leaves. Pour in the stock and roast, turning occasionally, until the liquid is almost completely evaporated and the ribs are golden brown, 45 minutes to an hour.

　　

Step 3

Meanwhile, stir the wine, vinegar, honey, and crushed red pepper together in a small bowl until the honey is dissolved.

　　

Step 4

Brush all sides of the ribs with some of the vinegar glaze, then pour the remaining glaze into the roasting pan. Continue baking, turning every few minutes, until the glaze is syrupy and the ribs are mahogany brown and sticky to the touch, about 30 minutes. Spoon off as much of the fat as you like before serving the ribs.

　　From Lidia's Italian-American Kitchen by Lidia Matticchio Bastianich Copyright © 2001 by A La Carte Communications and Tutti a Tavola, LLC. Published by arrangement with Alfred A. Knopf, an imprint of The Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group, a division of Penguin Random House LLC.Buy the full book from Amazon.