Sweet roasted onions
This vegetarian side dish works well with a Sunday roast. Sweeten the whole onions with balsamic vinegar and maple syrup
At least one day before eating, slow-cook the ribs. Heat oven to 160C/140C fan/gas 3. If you have a flameproof roasting tin, then heat it with the oil and brown the seasoned fleshy sides of the ribs well. If not, do this in a frying pan and transfer the ribs to a roasting tin, flesh-side down. Nestle the whole carrots among the ribs and pour over all the wine. Cover the roasting tin tightly with foil and put in the oven for 4 hrs, turning any carrots that aren’t submerged in the wine halfway through.
When cooked, leave to cool, then transfer the ribs and carrots to a tray, pouring the cooking juices into a bowl. Cover and chill everything overnight. Can be prepared up to two days ahead.
To finish the dish, heat oven to 220C/200C fan/gas 7. Sit the ribs in a roasting tin, bone-side down, and roast for 25 mins until very brown, sizzling and crisp around the edges.
Meanwhile, lift the solidified dripping off the sauce and melt half in a frying pan until gently sizzling. Add the carrots and gently fry to reheat. Season with sea salt, toss through the parsley and lift the carrots out of the fat into a serving dish.
Pour the sauce into a saucepan with the red onion marmalade and bring to the boil. Skim off any froth and continue to boil and stir until you have a sticky gravy. Serve everything together on a large board with the racks piled on top of each other and a few ribs carved away to start with.