Watermelon Ribs

I recently made Watermelon marinaded ribs with a recipes from Jared Ingersoll. His book Sharing Plates is awesome and a lovely read. Penny Williams, the chef who ran the cookery school in Bali had worked with him and if her cooking was anything to go by, this book definitely had to be a winner. It is!

In the book Jared makes beef ribs with watermelon which are smoked. I am sadly not into smoking - I wish I was but have never had time to investigate this process properly. It is on my list of things to learn! Instead I adapted the recipe and made pork ribs roasted in the oven. Although I am sure that by smoking the flavour of these ribs would be even better, there were nevertheless delicious and you could actually taste the watermelon! Fruity and juicy - we will definitely be making these again!

Watermelon Pork Ribs

flesh of half watermelon, seeds removed and crushed with a fork

3 dried chillies, crushed

1 tsp ground allspice

1 stick cinnamon

3 tbsp pomegraneate molasses

4 tbsp olive oil

salt and pepper

2 bay leaves

2 tomatoes, seeds removed and finely chopped

2 tbsp brown sugar

16 pork ribs

1 inch piece ginger, peeled and finely chopped

2 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped

Place all the ingredients except the ribs into a large bowl and mix well. Add the ribs and leave to marinade over night. Remove the ribs from the marinade and place with a roasting tin with a drizzle of olive oil and bake in a hot oven for 2 hours, the turn the heat down and cook for a further 30 minutes until the ribs are cooked through. Baste often with the marinade whilst cooking. These would be equally good on the BBQ.