Ossobuco, a dish from Milan, Italy, is made of veal shanks braised with olive oil, wine, veal stock, tomatoes or tomato sauce, onions, garlic, carrots, celery, lemon zest and sometimes anchovies or mushrooms. In Italian, the veal shank itself is also called ossobuco and means "holed bone" or "bone with a hole" (osso "bone", buco "hole"). I developed this recipe, using orange rather than lemon, to accommodate my family's like for the taste of sweet orange rather than tart lemon, and that choice remains yours. Ossobuco is often, but not always, garnished with a sprinkling of gremolada, which is a mixture of equal parts minced parsley, lemon zest and garlic. Again, I use orange zest in place of lemon, and that choice is also yours!
Ossobuco is traditionally accompanied by Risotto alla Milanese, a rich saffron risotto (made using veal stock), but it is equally delicious served with orzo (pasta), rice or even polenta. I often times serve my ossobuco accompanied by my recipe for: ~ Spicy Saffron Rice & Pine Nut Stuffed Tomatoes ~, which can be found in Categories 4, 14 or 14:
Here are my reasons: 1) These are a very elegant presentation, plus, they can be stuffed several hours ahead of heating and serving, which is very convenient. 2) When I make Risotto alla Milanese, which is also a time-consuming dish to prepare (and another future blog post), I make a main-dish version of the recipe using the cooked veal shank meat that resulted from the veal stock preparation!
Praising braising:
While ossobuco is not difficult to prepare, it is time consuming and requires a patient cook.
A bit about braising: Braising (from the French word "braiser") is a combination method of cooking using both moist and dry heat. It relies on heat, time, and moisture to tenderize and was originally developed to cook tough inexpensive cuts of meat and/or hard, fibrous vegetables. First the food is seasoned, then seared in fat. It is then partially-covered in a liquid or sauce, tightly covered and slow-cooked for a lengthy period of time in a low to moderate oven (300-325 degrees), or, gently simmered on top of the stove, to concentrate flavors and tenderize the meat. In the case of meat, the muscle fibers absorb moisture from the steam, then the connective tissue dissolves to gelatin, which thickens the cooking liquid. Sometimes the finished liquid is cooked farther to create a sauce or a gravy. In the case of vegetables, if they have a high water content, sometimes they can be braised in their own juices with no extra liquid being required!
For the sauce:
5 tablespoons EVOO + 1 tablespoon orange olive oil, or, 6 tablespoons EVOO (lemon olive oil may be substituted)
1 teaspoon white pepper
8 ounces diced pancetta (an Italian spiced bacon)*
8 ounces each: diced yellow or sweet onion, carrots and celery
2 ounces minced fresh garlic
2 pounds stemmed, cleaned and sliced white button mushroom caps
1/2-1 cup Chianti (an Italian red wine), for deglazing pan twice, total throughout recipe
1 very large orange, cut into quarters, then eighths, to form 8 wedges (two lemons cut into 8 total wedges may be substituted)
1 1/2 cups marinara sauce, preferably homemade (Note: You can find my recipe for ~ Mel's Fresh & Spicy Tomato-Basil Sauce ~ in Categories 8, 12 & 22.)
1 1/2 cups veal stock, preferably homemade (Note: You can find my recipe for ~ Veal Stock: Turning Ordinary into Extraordinary ~ in Categories 15 & 22.)
For the Veal Shanks:
7 tablespoons EVOO + 1 tablespoon orange olive oil, or, 8 tablespoons EVOO (lemon olive oil may be substituted)
8 1 1/2"-2" thick veal shanks, as evenly sized as possible, about 6-7 pounds
garlic powder, sea salt, white pepper and Wondra flour, for seasoning and coating shanks
For the gremolada:
1/4 cup minced/diced flat-leaf parsley
zest from one large orange (zest from 2 lemons may be substituted)
2 large, minced garlic cloves (about 2 tablespoons minced garlic)
*Note: Pancetta, often referred to as Italian bacon, is an unsmoked pork belly that has been cured in salt, pepper and spices like fennel and nutmeg, then dried for several months. It's readily available and found mostly in "rolled" form, from which circular slices are cut. It is also available in "slab" form, which is sliced like bacon, but this is harder to find in American markets. Pancetta is always chopped or diced prior to frying it. It adds a very distinctive pork flavor to many Italian dishes, without the smoky flavor that bacon provides.
~ Step 1. To prepare the sauce, prep the pancetta as directed. Set aside.
Prep onion, carrots, celery, garlic, mushrooms and orange as directed. Separately, set each one aside as you work (as pictured above in the ingredients picture).
Note: All of these tasks can be done a day ahead of making the ossobuco.
~ Step 2. In a 6-quart Dutch oven, heat the oil(s) over low heat. Stir in the white pepper. Add the pancetta and adjust heat to medium-high. Saute for 1-2 minutes, until the pancetta is soft and beginning to render its fat.
~ Step 3. Add the onion, celery, carrot and garlic, and saute for an additional 1-2 minutes. Add the mushrooms and saute until they have lost all of their moisture, pancetta is turning-golden, but not crisp, and onion is just beginning to brown, about 30-45 minutes, stirring frequently:
~ Step 3. Add 1/4 cup of the Chianti to the pan. Using a metal spatula, deglaze the pan by gently scraping and stirring to loosen the browned bits and drippings from the bottom of the pan.
~ Step 4. Stir in the marinara sauce and the veal stock. Place the orange wedges over the top, cover and simmer gently for 15 minutes. Remove from heat. Uncover the pan. Transfer the orange wedges to a plate, cover them and set aside for garnish. They will be plump and just steamed through. Recover the pan and set the finished sauce aside, while prepping the veal as follows:
~ Step 5. To prepare the veal, lightly season the top of each shank with garlic powder, sea salt and white pepper. Lightly coat the top of each one with Wondra flour. Set aside, about 15-20 minutes, to give the flour time to absorb moisture from the meat, which will insure a crispy, brown sear.
~ Step 6. In a 14" chef's pan, heat the oil(s) over medium-high heat. Add the veal shanks, floured side down. Lightly season the second side of each shank with garlic powder, sea salt and white pepper. Sprinkle a light coating of Wondra flour over all. Adjust heat to saute, until veal is light-golden brown on both sides, about 15 minutes per side, turning only once and carefully regulating/lowering the heat so as to brown, but not scorch.
~ Step 7. Add the second 1/4 cup of Chianti to the pan. Using a metal spatula, deglaze the pan. Transfer the veal shanks, along with all of their pan juices to the sauce in the Dutch oven. Cover the pan and place in a 325 degree oven for 2 1/2-3 hours. Remove from oven and set aside to rest for 30 minutes. Top each portion with a sprinkling of gremolada and garnish with a reserved orange wedge:
Ossobuco alla Milanese (Braised Veal Shanks): Recipe yields 8 servings.
Special Equipment List: cutting board; chef's knife; vegetable peeler; 6-quart Dutch oven w/domed lid; large spoon; metal spatula; 14" chef's pan w/straight, deep sides
Cook's Note: If you like the flavor of citrus in your food, but have never tried cooking with the combination of fresh citrus and citrus oils or citrus olive oil, I am here to tell you: citrus oil and citrus olive oil transform ordinary dishes into extraordinary dishes!
While these products are not cheap, a little goes a long way, which completely justifies their expense. I keep mine stored in the refrigerator (along with my truffle oil), which makes for quite a long shelf life!
"We are all in this food world together." ~ Melanie Preschutti
(Recipe, Commentary and Photos courtesy of Melanie's Kitchen/Copyright 2012)
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