Ossobuco Tagine (Moroccan Style Ossobuco)

With Easter quickly approaching I figured that it was about time to start testing some dishes for my Easter menu and I had several ideas. Up first was this Moroccan style osso buco inspired by this recipe for ossobuco with prunes, apricots and saffron from What's For Lunch Honey?. I always enjoy combining cooking styles and flavours from different cuisines and I knew that if you took two already amazing dishes, ossobuco and apricot lamb tagine, and combined them that you would have a winner and I just had to try it. Ossobuco is an Italian dish where a veal shank is braised in a wine broth along with vegetables and a tajine is a North African dish that is slowly braised in a tajine and it commonly includes both sweet and savoury aspects along with a warm Moroccan spice blend. For the recipe, I started out with my ossobuco recipe and then I added some dried apricots and prunes along with a blend of warm spices. Don't let the length of the ingredients in this recipe fool you, it is actually pretty easy to make and it only requires about a half an hour of hands on time with the rest of the time spent slowly braising in the oven. The ossobuco tagine turned out really well! I have to say that the sweet and savoury aspects of this dish worked fantastically and you just scan't miss that super tender, falling of the bone veal. I served the ossobuco tajine on some whole wheat couscous and garnished it with a gremolata. This ossobuco tajine would definitely be welcome on my Easter menu!

Ossobuco Tagine

A Moroccan take on osso buco. Veal shanks braised in a sweet and savoury tomato sauce with a Moroccan spice blend.

Servings: makes 2 servings

Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 3 hours 20 minutes
Total Time: 3 hours 30 minutes

Printable Recipe

Ingredients

• 2 veal shanks, with skin
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1/4 cup flour
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1/2 cup onion, diced
• 1/2 cup carrot, diced
• 1/2 cup celery, diced
• 1 tablespoon garlic, chopped
• 1 tablespoon ginger, grated
• 1 cup white wine
• 1 cup beef or veal stock
• 1 (14 ounce) can diced tomatoes
• 1 tablespoon tomato paste
• 1/4 cup dried apricots, coarsely chopped
• 1/4 cup prunes, coarsely chopped
• 1 tablespoon harissa
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon turmeric
• 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 pinch saffron
• 2 bay leaves
• salt and pepper to taste

Directions

1. Season the veal with salt and pepper and dredge in the flour, shaking off any excess.
2. Heat the oil in a large oven proof pan over medium-high heat.
3. Brown the veal on all sides and set aside.
4. Add the onions, carrots, celery and saute over medium heat until tender, about 10-15 minutes.
5. Add the garlic and ginger and saute until fragrant, about 1 minute.
6. Add the wine and deglaze the pan.
7. Add the stock, tomatoes, tomato paste, apricots, prunes, harissa, paprika, cayenne, cumin, turmeric, cinnamon, saffron, bay leaves, salt and pepper and bring to a boil.
8. Add the veal, cover, transfer to a preheated 350F oven and braise until the veal is fall off the bone tender, about 2-3 hours. Check the pot every once in a while and if the liquid drops below half way up the veal, add some more stock.

Similar Recipes:
Osso Buco
Apricot Lamb Tagine
Moroccan Lamb Tagine
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