This dish is a little treasure that I found from my trip to Milan years ago. After a long day of wandering around the city, the richness of the stew, the tender meat that falls right off the bone, the creaminess of the marrow, and the fragrance of saffron risotto was just the perfect way to finish the day, with a glass of wine.
Difficulty: Medium
Time: 15min prep, 2hrs cooking
Serves: 4
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup flour - 4 pieces of osso buco (veal shanks) - 3 tbsp olive oil - 3 tbsp butter - 1 onion finely chopped - 1/2 cup celery chopped - 1/2 cup carrots chopped - 4 cloves garlic finely chopped - 2 bay leaves - 3 tbsp fresh Italian parsley finely chopped - 1 cup dry Marsala - 2 cups chicken stock - 1 canned tomatoes
- 1 tbsp tomato paste - salt
- pepper
Gremolata
- zest from 1 lemon - zest from 1 orange - 1 garlic clove minced - 2 tbsp fresh Italian parsley finely chopped
Saffron Risotto - 8 cups unsalted chicken stock - 2 tbsp butter - 2 tbsp olive oil - 2 cups Arborio rice - 3 pinches of saffron threads - handful of grated parmesan cheese - salt
- pepper
Roux
- 2 tbsp butter
- 4 tbsp flour
Method
1. Season the flour with salt and pepper and coat the osso buco thoroughly with a thin and even layer of flour.
2. Heat oil and butter in a cast iron pot over medium heat, and sear the osso buco on all side until golden brown. Remove from the pot and set aside.
3. Add onions, garlic, salt and pepper to the pan, cook for a few minutes before adding celery, carrot, bay leaves and parsley and further cook for a few minutes until softened and fragrant. Add the wine and deglaze the pan. Add chicken stock, tomatoes and tomato paste, bring to boil before returning the osso buco to the pot. Cover and cook on low heat for the next 1.5-2 hrs until tender.
3. Prepare the gremolata by mixing all the ingredients together in a small bowl.
4. 30 minutes before the osso buco is ready, make a roux by adding the flour to melted butter in a small pan, mix well and cook on low to medium heat for a few minutes. Add the roux to the osso buco and mix well to thicken the sauce. Taste and make final adjustment to the seasoning.
5. Bring the chicken stock to boil. In a separate pan, melt butter and oil over medium heat. Stir in the rice and cook for 2 minutes until golden, before adding the saffron threads and mix through. Cook the risotto by slowly incorporating the hot chicken stock to the rice whilst stirring continuously to allow the rice to fully absorb the liquid. Add more hot liquids if required and taste to see if the rice is cooked through. Cooked risotto should be creamy and slightly al dente in the centre. Incorporate the grated parmesan when it's cooked and season with salt and pepper.
6. Serve the osso buco and saffron risotto hot with gremolata sprinkled on top. Enjoy!
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