Method
Preheat oven to 180C. Pat the ribs dry and trim them of any excess fat (you can also ask the butcher to do this for you). Season them well with salt and pepper. Heat oil in a large heavy oven-proof pot over medium-high heat. Add ribs in batches and brown well. Transfer the ribs to a plate and move on to your vegetables.
If there is a lot of fat in the pot, drain some of it away so that you are just left with about one tablespoon of oil. Add the shallots, celery, and carrot and brown in the pan, cooking them for about five minutes. Add the garlic and thyme and cook for a further few minutes or until garlic has softened a little.
Add the red wine and balsamic vinegar, scraping the bottom of the pan. Return the ribs back into the pot, making sure they’re nicely covered with vegetables. Add the stock and bring to a simmer, making sure the ribs are mostly covered with liquid. Place in the preheated oven and cook for 3-3.5 hours or until meat is lovely and tender.
When ready, you can serve the ribs as they are, in the pot with all the vegetables and thyme. At this point however, the liquid will be quite thin. Another option is to carefully remove the ribs and set aside, skim the fat and strain the liquid from the vegetables. The liquid can then be returned to the heat to reduce and served as a sauce over the ribs.
While the ribs are cooling a little, you can get onto to the slaw. For the dressing, combine two parts olive oil and one part lemon juice in a bowl. For a dressing, the ratio 100ml of olive oil to 50ml of lemon juice is often just right, but this will depend on both the oil and lemons you are using, so adjust as necessary. Whisk to combine and season to taste.
Combine the fennel, cabbage, radicchio and celery in bowl. Tear in the parsley leaves and the reserved fennel fronds. Add the parmesan and toss to combine.
Pour over the dressing and mix well. This should be done just before serving as the cabbage wilts quite quickly. Season to taste.
Scatter the ribs with the extra thyme leaves and serve with the slaw.