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A 3-pound rack of spareribs, cut by the butcher into finger-size pieces

⅔ cup chopped carrot

⅔ cup chopped celery

1½ cups canned imported Italian plum tomatoes, chopped, with their juice, OR fresh, ripe tomatoes, peeled and cut up

Salt

Black pepper, ground fresh from the mill

1. Choose a saute pan that can subsequently contain all the ribs no more than 2 layers deep. Put in the olive oil and the chopped onion, turn on the heat to medium, and cook the onion, stirring occasionally, until it becomes colored a pale gold. Put in the ribs, turning them several times to coat them well, and cook them long enough to brown them all over.

2. Add the carrot and celery, turning them 2 or 3 times, and cook until they are nearly tender.

3. Add the tomatoes, salt, and liberal grindings of pepper, put a lid on the pan setting it slightly askew, and cook at a slow, but steady simmer until the meat is very tender and comes easily off the bone, about 1 to 1½ hours. Check the pan from time to time. If the cooking liquid becomes insufficient and the ribs start to stick to the bottom, add ½ cup water as needed. On the other hand, if when the ribs are done the pan juices are too watery, uncover, turn up the heat, and boil them down until the fat floats free.

Ahead-of-time note You can cook the ribs through to the end up to 1 day in advance. Reheat gently, but thoroughly before serving.

Note If you like sausages, you can replace half the amount of ribs called for with 1 pound of sausages, and cook them together. It makes a very tasty dish. Cut the sausages in half before cooking, and use the plainest pork sausage you can buy, without fennel seeds, cumin, chili pepper, or other extraneous flavors.

Grilled Marinated Spareribs

The savory distinction of these grilled ribs is owed to the marinade of olive oil, garlic, and rosemary in which they must steep for at least 1 hour before cooking.

For 4 servings

¼ cup extra virgin olive oil

1 tablespoon garlic chopped very fine

1 tablespoon fresh rosemary leaves chopped very fine OR 2 teaspoons dried, chopped

Salt

Black pepper, ground fresh from the mill

A 3-pound rack of pork spareribs in one piece

OPTIONAL: a charcoal grill

1. Put the olive oil, garlic, rosemary, liberal pinches of salt, and grindings of black pepper into a small bowl, and beat with a fork until the ingredients are evenly combined.

2. Place the rib rack on a platter, and pour the marinade from the bowl over it, rubbing it into the meat with your fingertips or brushing it on with a pastry brush. Allow to stand at room temperature for at least 1 hour, occasionally turning the rack, to allow the fragrance and flavor of the marinade to sink into the meat.

3. Preheat the broiler 15 minutes before you are ready to grill the ribs. If using charcoal, allow it time to form a full coating of white ash.

4. Place the broiler pan—or the grilling rack, if it is adjustable—about 8 inches away from the source of heat. Put the spareribs on the pan or grill, brushing them with what remains of the marinade in the platter. Cook for 25 minutes, turning the rack 3 or 4 times. The meat should be juicily tender, but well done, not pink. Serve at once when done.

Pork Sausages with Red Cabbage

CABBAGE DOES wonderful things for meat, especially sausages. Here the cabbage and the pork are cooked separately first; the cabbage in olive oil, the sausages in their own fat. They finish cooking together, engaging in a reciprocal and beneficial assimilation of flavors.

For 4 servings

1 tablespoon chopped garlic ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil

1½ pounds red cabbage, cut into fine strips, about 8 cups

Salt

Black pepper, ground fresh from the mill

1 pound mild pork sausage, containing no herbs or strong spices

1. Put the garlic and olive oil into a large saute pan, turn on the heat to medium, and cook the garlic, stirring, until it becomes colored a light gold, then add all the cabbage, turning it over several times to coat all of it well. Add salt and pepper and cook uncovered, turning the cabbage from time to time, while you proceed with