Osso Buco

Osso Buco is a favorite winter dish, and always reminds me of my travels in Tuscany. Best of all, it’s easy to make at home.

6 servings

• Six 2 inch thick veal shanks, tied with string, approximately 3/4 lb each. Don’t worry if the sizes are a bit irregular. You can find them at Balducci’s at Wildwood.

• 3 large carrots, cut into 1/2 inch dice

• 3 ribs celery, cut into 1/2 inch dice

• 1 medium onion, cut into 1/2 inch dice

• 3 cloves of garlic, minced

• 1 cup of dry red or white wine

• 16 oz can of Italian tomatoes, drained and coarsely chopped. Keep the juice for later

• 1 bunch of flat leaf parsley, use 1/2 c. chopped for the dish, more if you make the cremolata below.

• 1 cup of homemade chicken stock or low salt canned chicken broth

• salt and pepper

• olive oil

Preheat your oven to 325 degrees. You want a large, deep pan with a lid big enough to fit the veal shanks in one layer. I use a large enameled cast iron le creuset 5 quart braiser. Heat about 2 T of olive oil in your pan on the stove. Dry the veal shanks and season them with salt and pepper. Saute in the pan until browned on both sides, about 8 minutes. While the shanks are browning, you can cut the vegetables and garlic. Once the shanks are browned on both sides, move them to a plate. Saute the carrots, celery, onions and garlic til tender, about 7 minutes. Add the wine, tomatoes and chicken stock, and deglaze the pan, scraping up any browned bits. Bring it to a simmer and add the veal shanks, nesting them among the vegetables. Cover with the lid (you can use a tight double layer of foil if you don’t have a lid for your pan) and braise the veal in the oven for an hour. After one hour, turn the shanks over and cook for another hour or so, until the meat is very tender.

Remove the shanks to a plate. If your stock is nice and thick, you are ready to serve. If it seems a little thin, cook it down a bit on the stove and taste it to see if you want to adjust the salt and pepper. To serve, cut the strings off the veal, and top each shank with sauce and vegetables.

Go Italian with the wine too — I like to serve the veal with a nice Chianti, but a Barolo would also be terrific.

If you like the traditional finishing touch for osso buco is cremolata. For this, simply zest the skin of a large lemon, finely chop 1 cup of flat leaf parsley and 2 cloves of garlic. Toss this together, and sprinkle a bit on top of the veal shanks.

Serve with a wild rice mix, risotto or mashed potatoes. I like to roast turnips, beets and carrots, tossed in some olive oil, in the oven during the second hour the veal is cooking. A salad with some bitter notes is also good, like mixed greens, endive and radicchio in a vinaigrette. It’s also traditional to suck the marrow out of the veal bones at the end of the meal, or to scoop it out with a marrow spoon.

Buon Appetito! Enjoy your dinner!