Ossobuco with Orange and Lemon Gremolata and Risotto Milanese.

My home town is Melbourne, Australia, a city blessed with excellent food, due to its multi-cultural community. We have great Chinese, Japanese and Vietnamese, excellent Greek and Lebanese, wonderful Italian, and I reckon some of the best-made coffee in the world.

When I was a student, I used to frequent Pellegrini’s Espresso Bar on Bourke Street. The bar is still there, a Melbourne institution, but sadly the diner that used to be out back has long since closed down, to make space for a trendier restaurant. It used to be a cheap Italian diner that stayed open late. Food mainly came out from under heat lamps, but it was the kind of hearty Italian fare that was not compromised by such treatment. It was served up by middle-aged Italian ladies (dare I call them Mama’s) with no fuss, but by God it always tasted so good! This is where I first tasted Ossobuco. I’ve been in love with it ever since, but few taste as good as those served to me by the Mama’s of the Pellegrini’s back-bar all those years ago.

Strange then, that I’ve never made it, I think I believed it would only taste ‘real’ if it came from a recipe handed down to me by my ‘Nonna’, that my blood-line negated me from being able to make an authentic version. Nonsense! And so it becomes item number 2 on my weekly culinary challenges.

To make this dish, I read many recipes; Antonio Carluccio, River Café, Dean and Deluca, Elizabeth Luard and many online offerings. I also read up on its history. The basic recipe seems to be much the same in most versions with the main disputes being to add or not to add tomatoes, the use of Gremolata, and the cooking times. I didn’t follow any single recipe, rather, I just absorbed everything I read and went on with my own version which went like this.

Serves 4

ingredients for Osso Buco

4 veal shanks 4-5 cm thick (cut across the bone from the centre or back)

4 tbsp flour

1.5 tsp salt

Ground black pepper

5 tbsp olive oil

2 large carrots (diced)

3 stick of celery (diced)

1 onion (diced)

3 cloves of garlic (finely chopped)

2 bay leaves

350ml white wine

1/2 tbsp lemon zest

1/2 tbsp orange zest

1 cup beef stock

2 x 400g tins plum tomatoes

1 tbsp chopped fresh thyme

1 tbsp chopped fresh rosemary

4 tbsp chopped fresh parsley

Method

Preheat oven to 150degrees.

Tie some string around the veal slices; this will hold the meat together and on the bone over the long cooking period.

coat in flour and tie up with string
before cooking

Add ½ teaspoon of salt and some ground back pepper to the flour, dredge the veal slices ensuring each is well coated, but shake off the excess. Heat 3 tbsp of oil in a large ovenproof saucepan, you need enough space for the veal to fit in a single layer.  Add the veal to the hot oil and brown on all sides (2-3 mins each side) then remove from pan and set to one side.

Add the remaining 2 tbsp of oil to the pan, then add the diced vegetables, bay leaves, 2 of the chopped garlic cloves and about a third of the salt. Cook and stir for about 10 minutes, the veges will be sizzling and starting to soften. Do keep your eye on things and stir occasionally, you do not want the veg to catch and burn, especially the garlic, burnt garlic is ruinous and will leave your entire dish with an underlying bitterness. Now add ½ the lemon and orange zest and wine, cook for a further 5-6 minutes while the liquor reduces.

Drain your tins of tomato; you only want the tomatoes and not any of the juice. Add these to the pan along with the rosemary and thyme. Again, let the mixture cook and reduce for about 5 minutes, stirring every now and then, scraping anything that may have caught on the bottom of the pan. Check the tomatoes and if they need it, give them a mash with the back of your spoon. At this point I choose to add ½ teaspoon of sugar as the dry white wine and tinned tomatoes are not quite as sweet as the dish needs. Taste and do the same if you feel it needs it.

Cover the pan with a lid and transfer it into the preheated oven (150 degrees) and cook for 3 hours. The slow cooking will render the fat and sinew from the shank making it melt-in-the-mouth good, the low heat will ensure the mix doesn’t boil and so keep the meat from completely falling apart (until it’s on the end of you fork).

To make the Gremolata, add the remaining orange and lemon zest to the chopped parsley and the remaining finely chopped clove of garlic (easy!)

The risotto will take about 4o minutes to make. The Ossobuco will sit warm in the oven nicely for this time; I start my risotto just as it finishes it’s cooking. If you are short on time, you should start your risotto 2hours 20minutes in (see recipe below).

Remove the pan from the oven, gently lift each shank from the pot with an egg-flip and place on a plate, cut the string and discard, add a large scoop of the Risotto Milanese then spoon a ladle or two of the sauce over the veal leaving the marrow bone to peep through. Sprinkle with Gremolata.

Risotto Milanese

ingredients for Risotto Milanese

2 cups Arborio rice

600ml chicken stock

1 cup dry vermouth

2 sticks of celery

1 onion

1 clove of garlic

75g butter

2 tbsp olive oil

¼ tsp saffron threads

75g grated Parmigiano-Reggiano, including a section of ‘rind’ (about 2 inches long)

Freshly ground black pepper.

Put your stock in a saucepan and bring to a simmer, turn the heat down and keep the stock warm on the hob beside your risotto pan.

Melt 2/3 the butter in the  risotto pan with the olive oil, add the onion, celery, garlic and sweat over a medium heat for about 8 minutes, stirring occasionally so it doesn’t catch and burn.

Add the saffron and stir for a further minute. Now add the rice and stir to coat each grain with the buttery mix.

Turn the heat up and add the vermouth, when this has been almost absorbed add a ladle full of the stock and the Parmesan rind. Stir the mix until the liquid has been almost absorbed then add another ladle of the warm stock. Repeat this procedure of adding stock and stirring until the rice is cooked ‘al dente’ (it will take 30-40 minutes)

Stir in the final knob of butter, the grated cheese and some black pepper to taste. Serve with the Ossobuco.

Let me tell you, this is absolutely delicious, and although it takes a long time to cook, it’s not difficult. If you follow the recipies it should work out perfectly, there is not a lot of fussy technique here. It’s a perfect Sunday dish; imagine a long, lazy day at home with the family, popping in and out of the kitchen to see to the various stages of cooking. The house filled with gorgeous aromas, it is the perfect alternative to the Sunday roast.