Westport Chef Prepares Favorite Winter Dish On 'Today' Show

WESTPORT, CT — Acclaimed Westport chef Brian Lewis appeared on NBC's "Today" show Monday morning, where he shared his recipe for short rib cottage pie. Lewis is the chef and owner of both The Cottage and OKO restaurants in Westport.

His appearance aired at 8:45 a.m. as part of the morning talk show's "Today Food" segment, which can be viewed here.

Joined by Connecticut resident and co-host Craig Melvin, Lewis was asked by the show to come up with the perfect comfort food recipe. He choose to show off the cottage pie, as it the "go-to Sunday meal" for him and his family during the winter. (To sign up for Westport breaking news alerts and more, click here.)

Lewis said the idea for the dish, which has been served at The Cottage in the past, came from a desire to create something "a little bit more elegant than the traditional" by utilizing Wagyu beef short ribs.

"It's the winter go-to," Lewis said on the show. "People love it. They ask for it every winter."

After he prepped a braising liquid consisting of red wine, beef or chicken stock and a sachet of spices, Lewis seared the short rib meat. When asked by Melvin what the secret to the perfect sear is, Lewis emphasized using a high heat and flour.

"Flour helps a lot because it gets that nice caramelization," Lewis said. "It also helps thicken the sauce later."

He then covered the short ribs with the liquid, covered the dish in tin foil to prevent the beef from drying out and popped it in the oven.

"The nice part about this is you can cook it several days ahead of time," Lewis said. "It only gets deeper; that beautiful color and that richness is really coming through...it really matures in the liquid."

Lewis later topped the meat with glazed vegetables, consisting of carrots, celery root and Cipollini onions, before topping the dish with mashed potatoes.

Anyone impatiently wanting to sample this dish now can do so at The Cottage, where it will be on the menu Tuesday, according to the restaurant's Facebook page.

According to their website, The Cottage offers guests "an exciting menu of hand-crafted dishes, inspired by techniques and cultures from various regions around the globe." The restaurant is located at 256 Post Road East and is open Tuesday-Saturday for dinner and Sunday for brunch and supper.

Melvin described The Cottage and OKO as "two of the hottest restaurants in Westport" and mentioned that he and his wife had recently enjoyed a Valentine's Day meal at OKO.

View the full video of Lewis' appearance at today.com.

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