Osso Buco

Hey! Merry Christmas everybody and have Happy Holidays to all my friends and family :)
Okay, this is what we had for our Christmas Eve's dinner. This year, I'm staying away from the old tradition, turkey and stuffs. I'm not a big fan of turkey anyway! As a matter of fact, this month alone, we went to quite a number of parties and turkey's were always served, right on the table! Can you imagine having turkey since Canadian and American Thanksgiving and now? I really can't take it anymore! LOL!!

Well, since it's so cold and snowy out there, I have decided to make Osso Buco for tonight's dinner. It's a comfort food to me. I made some mashed potatoes and risotto Milanese to go with it. Dinner was perfect and everyone enjoyed the meal.

This recipe was adapted and slightly tweaked from the Dean and Deluca Cookbook, which is one of my favorite cookbooks. Enjoy!

Osso Buco

Ingredients

1/2 cup Flour

1 1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp Ground Black Pepper

5 Tbsp Olive Oil

4 center cut slices Veal Shank (each about 1 1/2 inches thick and tied around with string)

1 cup Diced Yellow Onion

1 cup Diced Carrot

1 cup Diced Celery

2 1/2 tsp finely minced Garlic

2 Bay Leaves

3/4 cup White Wine

2 tsp grated Lemon Zest

3/4 cup Beef Stock

28 oz can Plum Tomatoes, drained

1 tsp chopped Fresh Thyme

1 tsp chopped Fresh Rosemary

1 Tbsp plus 1 tsp chopped Fresh Flat Leaf Parsley

Method

Preheat oven to 350˚F (180˚C).

Mix flour with 1/2 tsp of the salt and the pepper and put on a plate. Over high heat, heat 3 Tbsp of the oil in a deep, heavy, straight-sided, ovenproof skillet with a tight-fitting lid, large enough to hold the veal shanks in a single layer. When the oil is hot but not smoking, dredge veal shanks in flour, coating each side well. Brush off any excess flour. Place in oil and sear until well browned, about 3 minutes on each side. Remove and set aside.

Add the remaining oil, and when oil is hot add onion, carrot, celery, 2 tsp of garlic, bay leaves, and another 1/2 tsp of salt. Cook until golden, stirring occasionally, about 8 minutes. (Make sure that the vegetables don't burn). Add the white wine and 1 tsp of the lemon zest. Stir and scrape the bottom of the pan to deglaze it. Cook until wine is reduced by half, about 5 minutes. Add the beef stock and cook until liquid is reduced by half, another 5 minutes.

Put drained plum tomatoes into the skillet along with thyme, rosemary, and the remaining 1/2 tsp salt. Break up the tomatoes with back of a wooden spoon. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes. Return the veal shanks to the skillet. (The tomato mixture should come about two thirds of the way up the shanks. If it does not, add some more beef stock or water.)

Cover with the lid and braise in the preheated oven, turning shanks every 30 minutes, for 2 hours. (Add extra stock or water if liquid is getting too thick or too low. When shanks are done, they should be extremely tender and the meat should be starting to pull away from the bone.) Place the shanks on a large platter and cover with foil until ready to serve. Cook the sauce over moderate high heat until it is reduced to the desired consistency, about another 10 minutes, and adjust seasoning.

Make the gremolata by mixing the remaining lemon zest, garlic, and parsley in a small bowl. Stir well.

To serve, remove the strings from the shanks and cover the shanks generously with the sauce. Sprinkle with the gremolata.

Care for some "fatty" marrow??