Costillas al Romero

Slow-roasted pork ribs rubbed with rosemary, garlic, and smoked paprika and basted with white wine until the meat is meltingly tender and the herb has soaked into every layer: the rosemary roast of the Spanish interior, where romero grows wild across the scrub

Origin: Castile, Spain

From the journey of Rosemary.

Across the dry uplands of central Spain, where rosemary, romero, grows wild in fragrant tracts and scents the very air, the herb is a mainstay of the roasting oven and the open fire. Costillas al romero, pork ribs slow-roasted with rosemary, garlic, and a little smoked paprika, are a classic of the Castilian and Aragonese table, the kind of unhurried, deeply savoury cooking served at country ventas and family gatherings. The ribs are rubbed with the herb and roasted slowly, basted with white wine, until the meat pulls easily from the bone and the rosemary has worked its resinous warmth all the way through. It is honest, rustic food, the taste of the Spanish interior and its sunbaked, rosemary-scented hills.

Ingredients

Pork

1.5 kg pork ribs (spare ribs or a rack), cut into sections

Marinade

4 tbsp fresh rosemary leaves, chopped, plus 4 whole sprigs
6 cloves garlic, crushed
1 tbsp sweet smoked paprika (pimentón dulce)
4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 tbsp sherry vinegar
1.5 tsp salt
0.5 tsp black pepper

Roasting

200 ml dry white wine

Method

Mix the chopped rosemary, garlic, smoked paprika, olive oil, sherry vinegar, salt, and pepper into a paste. Rub it all over the ribs, cover, and marinate for at least 2 hours, ideally overnight.
Preheat the oven to 160°C (140°C fan / 320°F). Arrange the ribs in a single layer in a roasting tin, tuck in the whole rosemary sprigs, and pour the white wine around them. Cover tightly with foil.
Roast, covered, for about 1 hour 15 minutes, until the meat is tender and shrinking back from the bone.
Remove the foil, raise the oven to 200°C (180°C fan / 400°F), and roast uncovered for a further 25 to 30 minutes, basting with the pan juices once or twice, until the ribs are browned and glazed and the juices have reduced and concentrated.
Rest for a few minutes, then serve with the pan juices spooned over, scattered with a little fresh rosemary, with bread, roast potatoes, or a simple salad.

Notes

This works equally well with a whole rack cut between the bones, or with pork belly strips. The combination of rosemary, garlic, and smoked paprika is deeply Spanish and adapts well to lamb or chicken. Cooked over a wood fire or barbecue (low and slow, then a quick char), the ribs take on an even more authentic, smoky character.

The Gastrographer

Name: Costillas al Romero
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 1 h 45 min
Total time: 2 h
Yield: 4
Cuisine: Spain
Ingredients: 1.5 kg pork ribs (spare ribs or a rack), cut into sections; 4 tbsp fresh rosemary leaves, chopped, plus 4 whole sprigs; 6 cloves garlic, crushed; 1 tbsp sweet smoked paprika (pimentón dulce); 4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil; 1 tbsp sherry vinegar; 1.5 tsp salt; 0.5 tsp black pepper; 200 ml dry white wine

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Journey Point Map Key

Ingredient originTrade or transit route

Became a culinary stapleColonial / trade control