Osso Buco Italian Style Veal Shanks

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Much of classic Italian cuisine has its roots in traditional home cooking where the emphasis is on simple hearty fare. Osso buco is a favourite dish throughout Italy but it is especially popular in Milan.

Ingredients

4 veal shanks
Olive oil
2 carrots
3 sticks celery
1 large onion
2 cloves garlic
flour seasoned with salt and pepper
2 tins canned tomatoes
100ml red wine
400 ml beef or vegetable stock
dried oregano
1 bay leaf
rind of half a lemon
chopped parsley

Method
Make a sofritto by finely dicing the carrots, celery onion and 2 of the cloves of garlic and sauteing in olive oil. Sofritto means ‘half cooked’, so you really need to just soften the vegetables. Remove them to a large ovenproof dish.

Dredge the veal shanks in the flour and brown them on both sides in oil. Arrange the osso buci on top of the vegetables. Deglase the saute pan with the wine and add the tomatoes. Break up the tomatoes with a wooden spoon. Add the stock and herbs and bring the sauce to a boil. Taste it and adjust the seasoning if necessary.

Pour the sauce over the meat and vegetables and cook, covered in a modeate oven for two hours.

Use the extra clove of garlic, the finely chopped parsley and the grated lemon rind to make a gremolata, just combine the crushed garlic with the other ingredients in a small bowl. Sprinkle it over the dish just before serving.

Serve the osso buco with risotto milanese.

Food pairing with Osso Buco

This rich Italian dish is ideally accompanied by a savoury Italian red wine - a Sangiovese would be most suitable.