This is my first ever made Osso Buco so I looked for an inspiration to respected Mario Batali. I loved the simplicity of his recipe, yet I didn’t follow his instructions completely. So here is my take on his recipe. I hope he would approve. We were not disappointed with the results!
Veal Osso Buco
Ingredients:
2 veal shanks (trimmed)
1/2 onion (chopped)
2 medium size carrots (chopped)
2 celery sticks (chopped)
1/2 cup of chopped leek
1 28oz can of whole tomatoes
2 cups of chicken broth
1 cup of white wine
salt and pepper
Preheat oven to 375 degrees
First I trimmed shanks of excess fat – but carefully, so they don’t fell apart, and seasoned it with salt and pepper. In a heavy-bottomed casserole I heated the olive oil. Placed the shanks in the hot oil and browned all over, turning to all sides. Removed and sat aside.
I have reduced the heat to medium, added the carrots, onion, celery and cooked it, stirring regularly, until golden brown and slightly softened , about 5 minutes. Added the tomatoes (crushed them gently in my hand as I was pouring it to the casserole) with all the puree and wine. Turned up the heat again and brought it to a boil.
Probably using way too big can of tomatoes for just 2 shanks, it was already a lot of sauce. I have also used a smaller casserole, so I didn’t add chicken stock at this point. My meat would have been completely covered in sauce.
I returned cooked meat back to the reduced sauce, covered with lid to warm the shanks thoroughly up, and served it with rice. You can also have creamy polenta, rice or mashed potatoes with Osso Buco. Mario suggests to serve it with saffron risotto – but I decided for a clean rice instead. I loved the taste of the sauce, so I didn’t want to mix it with yet another flavor.
Wine pairing suggestions:
We had this dish with Alto Moncayo Veraton – impressive Garnacha wine from Spanish Borja. Although I love the wine and the Osso Buco sauce was rich, it was still overpowering the dish a little. I would say, if the Alto Moncayo was a little older – let say 2004 instead of 2007, with softer tannins, it might work. But better yet, I would reach for medium body, yet fruity Volver or Coltibuono Stucchi Chianti Classico.
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