This Milanese dish literally means ”bone with a hole”, with the bone marrow being an essential part of the dish. It is a deliciously aromatic veal shank stew – perfect comfort food for a night in Osso bucco is traditionally served with zesty gremolata and risotto alla Milanese.
TO DRINK: Go for something big and spicy, like Koelfontein Shiraz 2005: it’s bold with intense chocolate and toffee aromas, combined with lashings of cocoa powder and hints of star anise
Osso bucco
Ingredients
- OSSO BUCCO
- salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- 50ml cake flour
- 4 thick slices of veal shin
- 30ml extra virgin olive oil
- 20ml butter
- 2 small red onions
- 1 large celery stick, finely chopped
- 1 medium carrot, finely chopped
- 2 garlic cloves, finely sliced
- 1 x 400g tin tomatoes, roughly chopped
- 300ml dry white wine
- 300ml veal or chicken stock
- strip of lemon peel, thinly pared
- 2 fresh bay leaves
- GREMOLATA
- 30ml flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped
- rind of 1 lemon, finely grated
- 1 garlic clove, finely chopped
- 30ml extra virgin olive oil
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 160°C.
For the osso bucco, season the flour and coat the veal evenly. Shake off any excess flour.
Heat the oil and butter in a large ovenproof casserole. Thinly slice one of the onions and separate into rings. Add the veal and onion rings to the casserole and brown the veal on both sides. Remove the veal and set aside.
Chop the remaining onion and add it to the casserole with the celery, carrot and garlic. Cook gently, stirring frequently until the vegetables soften slightly.
Add the tomatoes, wine, stock, lemon peel and bay leaves. Bring to the boil, stirring frequently.
Return the veal to the pan and coat with the sauce. Cover and cook in the oven until the veal is tender, about 2 hours.
For the gremolata, combine all the ingredients in a small bowl.
Serve the osso bucco topped with the gremolata and with risotto alla Milanese.
