Stewed Osso Bucco with Gremolata-by Sara Danesin

A cheap cut but one which given some attention and patience, delivers excellent results, is flavoursome and can be accompanied by a great variety of ‘winter-warmers’ such as polenta, rice and mash potatoes.

Osso Bucco originated in the 1700s. The term Gremolata derives from an old Milanese dialect term, meaning ‘reduced to grains’; the term refers to a set of ingredients to be added at the end.

This recipe is a different take on a more traditional veal recipe.

Tip: osso bucco are even tastier a day after being cooked; gremolata needs to be freshly made just before serving

Ingredients

For the meat

Pat-dry and flour the meat. In a heavy based pan, place the oil and butter and lightly brown the meat, add a splash of red wine turning every so often for 4/6 minutes. Make sure the wine is fully evaporated (Tip: you should not smell the wine at all before turning off the heat).

Remove from the pan and keep warm.

In the same pan, sauté the finely chopped shallot, carrot, celery, garlic and parsley until soft: use a small quantity of stock for this.

Place the meat on the sautéed vegetables, gently stir and turning the meat once only (the osso buco must not break), season and add the remaining stock.

Cook in a pressure cooker for 40 minutes on a low heat. If unavailable, use a conventional pot and double the amount of stock. In this case, it is crucial for the meat to be gently simmering in the stock and not broiling and this will depend to a large extent on the quantity of stock added. Please ensure the lid only partly covers the pot.

When the meat is ready, rest it for a few minutes and in the meantime finely chop the lemon rind, the garlic and the parsley, add the anchovy paste and sprinkle the gremolata over the cooked meat and serve immediately.

The addition of a small quantity of anchovy paste is to provide an extra depth to the dish. This flavour enhancer does not render the dish fishy in anyway, it just adds the so called ‘umami’, or so called fifth flavour after sweet, sour, bitter and salty.