Right ingredients, wrong recipe. This is a classic recipe from Belfast, and probably elsewhere in Northern Ireland. Something that your granny would make for you every week. A simple recipe passed down that I now make for my kids. Stick the (uncooked) ribs in a pot and add a couple of kettles full of boiling water. Turn the hob on full so that the water with the ribs starts to boil again Whilst that's happening, take about half a dozen carrots and peel them. Chop two of them into small pieces. Grate the other 4 with a grater (what else). Take a couple of onions, peel and chop them into pieces. By now the ribs should be boiling. Scoop off any residue off the top (my mother would call it glar but not sure if that translates outside belfast) Chuck in your carrots and onions, give it all a good stir, stick the lid on the pot and leave it. Check and stir again every half hour for a couple of hours After a couple of hours you can trun the pot down a couple of notches. Leave it for an hour or so again. Next get some potatoes. Peel them, and just chuck them in whole. Leave that to boil away for another 30 or 40 minutes. By now the smell should be wafting through the kitchen, begging you to go and have another stir. Go ahead. What you want it to end up like is for some, but not all, of your potatoes to be absorbed by the liquid. You want some chunky ones too, right? Add some salt and pepper to taste. Crusty bread and butter will make this a real hearty meal. Enjoy

The potatoes are overcooked when boiling for 3-4 hours. I would suggest that you brown the ribs with some olive oil, onions, and carrots. I would add the potatoes about an hour and a half before you expect to take it off the stove. Adding tomatoes to this isn't bad either.