Over the long weekend we visited one of my favourite places, Victoria’s High Country.
I don’t know if it’s the fresh air, the mountains, or the rolling hills but as soon as we hit the Alpine Valleys I start to relax. It’s my happy place.
Good food, great wine and amazing views. What’s not to love!!
During our stay I decided to cook at the house on one of the nights and I made veal osso buco. Now to me this is the dictionary definition of comfort food. It’s a classic Italian dish, one that my grandmother had made many times. I served it with mashed potatoes and green beans and we sat by the fire with a glass of wine and juice for the kids.
Osso buco translates to bone with a hole because its traditionally made with veal that’s cut into thick steaks from the shank. The bone is what makes Osso buco so special because it is filled with that fascinating marrow. It’s a love or hate thing as to whether you slurp out the delicate marrow or pass it on to someone else. Whatever you do, don’t let it go to waste.
To make osso buco, the veal shanks are cooked in a tomato and white wine sauce. The veal is gently braised in the sauce until its falling off the bone. This process makes the meat so tender that you could eat it with a spoon!
The ingredients for this recipe are simple and uses veal shanks, veggies, white wine, stock, crushed tomatoes and some herbs to add flavour. If you can’t find veal shanks at your butcher, you can substitute for beef shanks which will still give you a great result.
Traditionally osso buco was served with a saffron risotto but you can serve it with mashed potato, polenta or couscous. I also love to eat it with a chunk of crusty bread to soak up all the wonderful sauce.
I make this on the stovetop, but you could easily adapt this recipe to use in your slow cooker. Cook on low for 6-8 hours or until meat is falling off the bone.
If you are lucky enough to have any leftovers it tastes even better the next day!
For this and more recipes you can also check out my food blog at www.mrsfoodiemumma.com
Stay warm peeps.
MFM XX
OSSO BUCO
Ingredients
- 1 cup plain all purpose flour
- 2 kg veal osso buco (use beef osso buco if veal not available)
- 2 tbs olive oil
- 1 onion finely diced
- 1 carrot finely diced
- 1 stick celery finely diced
- 1 zucchini finely diced
- 3 cloves garlic peeled, left whole
- Small bunch flat leaf parsley finely chopped
- 1 tbs oregano
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 cup white wine
- 3 cups chicken stock
- 400g can crushed tomatoes
Instructions
Place flour along with salt and pepper in a zip lock bag. Add veal in batches and shake well until the meat is coated in the four mixture. Remove and repeat with remaining veal.
Heat 1tbs oil in a heavy casserole dish over medium heat. Add the osso buco and cook for 2 minutes on each side. Do this in batches if needed. Remove from pan and set aside.
Add remaining oil to the pot along with the onion, carrot, celery and zucchini. Cook for a few minutes until the vegetables start to soften.
Add garlic, parsley, oregano and bay leaves and cook for a further minute before adding the wine, stock and tomatoes. Bring to a simmer.
Return the osso buco to the pan. Cover with a lid and cook on low heat for 1 hour and 30 minutes, stirring occasionally to avoid the meat sticking to the bottom. It’s ready when the meat is falling off the bone.
Serve with mashed potato or crunchy white bread
[simple-author-box]
