Osso Buco, meaning hollowed bone in Italian, is a classic Milanese specialty. I had a delicious rendition of this dish in a cosy osteria hidden away in the romantic city of Verona. The Osso Buco here was tenderly falling off the bone with a rich, flavourful vegetable stew, and the marrow in the centre of the bone was, of course, heavenly. So when I see veal shank at the supermarket, I’m instantly attracted to it and cannot get cooking Osso Buco out of my mind.
Makes enough for 4
4 veal shanks
Plain flour, seasoned with salt & pepper
3 Tablespoons olive oil
1 onion, diced
1 carrot, diced
1 celery stick, diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 slice of lemon rind
1 cup dry white wine
1 cup chicken stock
1 can crushed plum tomatoes and juices
Handful of basil leaves
4 anchovy fillets, mashed into paste
Salt & pepper
What to do
Heat olive oil in Dutch oven or heavy-bottomed pot on medium-high. Lightly flour veal shanks and place into pot. Brown meat all over, being careful not to burn the flour, then remove and set aside.
Reduce heat to medium, add onion, carrot and celery and sweat ? for about 10mins. Add garlic, lemon rind, and cook for few more minutes until fragrant.
Stir in wine to deglaze ? the pot, then add meat, stock, tomatoes, basil and anchovies. Season with salt & pepper.
Once liquid starts to simmer, reduce heat to lowest setting and cook for around 2 hours. Turn meat once every half an hour.
When the meat starts to fall off the bone but still holds its shape, remove from pot and turn up heat to reduce the cooking liquid. Pour sauce over the veal shanks and serve with gremolata on the side.
Gremolata
4 Tablespoons of parsley, finely chopped
Zest of 1 lemon
1 garlic clove, minced
4 anchovy fillets
Chop all ingredients together to combine and season with salt & pepper.
Although traditionally served with Risotto alla Milanese, I served the Osso Buco with some olive oil mashed potatoes. The key to a good Osso Buco, besides good quality ingredients, is to properly brown the meat so that the vegetable stew is infused with the delicious flavours of the veal shank. When I eat I always save the best for last, and in this case, that’s definitely the rich and incredibly tasty marrow.
