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Articles from October 2002:

Veal Osso Buco ››:

Osso Bucco served with Cavolo Capuccio alla Sarda

Osso Buco means bone with a hole. It was one of my father's favorite dishes, primarily due to the incredibly rich and flavorful marrow that you can suck out of that hole in the middle of the bone. It's one of my favorite dishes too for the very same reason.

Osso Buco is simply thickly cut veal shank browned in olive oil and then braised in a flavorful liquid with mirepoix (diced onion, carrot and celery). Osso Buco Milanese is the classic preparation, made with just olive oil, mirepoix, garlic, marjoram and/or thyme, wine and stock, and finished with a sprinkling of gremolata (a mix of chopped parsley, crushed garlic, and grated lemon and/or orange peel). Most modern preparations add tomatoes, but I rather like the traditional Northern Italian preparation described here.

I do mess with the traditional (and, of course, significantly) by adding some pan–fried diced pancetta and using the fat rendered from the pancetta instead of olive oil to brown the meat and sauté the vegetables. The pancetta adds a nice salty-sweetness that complements the richness of the veal and stock without overpowering either. Don't substitute American style bacon for pancetta, though, as the smokiness of the bacon will completely overwhelm the subtle flavor of the veal. Of course, a really good dish might be to use this recipe, substituting smoked bacon for the pancetta and beef shank for the veal. Hmmmmmm...

Osso Buco is heavenly (as in to die for and the direction you hope to head after the coronary) served with Risotto Milanese. It also goes great served over a bed of soft polenta. Tonight we served it with just some good crusty sesame covered semolina bread and a side of Cavolo Capuccio alla Sarda (Cabbage Sardinian Style).

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Posted in scripts on Oct 27, 2002 @ 08:32 PM [0 Comments on Veal Osso Buco]