Cooking with Crosby Roamann: Osso Buco
Cooking with Crosby Roamann: Osso Buco
Osso Buco (translated "bone with a hole") has been one of my favorite dishes since we first tasted this sumptuous dish at the Mario Batali West Village staple Babbo in the early 2000s. It's perfect in the early spring when it's still a little too cold for warmer pasta sauces and I'm in the mood for something hearty -- plus, the veal is in season. Personally, we like to dress this down and serve this dish with butter noodles or simply a good, crusty bread. You will want a small spoon to dig the bone marrow out, and I suggest eating it with a slice of crispy bread first, then digging into the main course. Enjoy!
Ingredients
- 6 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 4 portions veal shank
- ½ cup flour
- 1 cup each chopped onions, carrots, celery
- 3 cloves garlic
- 1 ½ cups dry white wine (we use leftover Crosby Roamann Chardonnay)
- 1 can chopped tomatoes, or whole peeled tomatoes chopped with their juice
- 2 cups veal, beef or chicken stock
- 1 teaspoon dry thyme
- Freshly ground black pepper to taste
Preparation
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
- Melt the butter in a large casserole (big enough to hold all the veal shanks side by side) with the olive oil over medium heat.
- Dredge the veal shanks in lightly salted flour then shake off the excess and sear them on all sides in the hot oil and butter, then set them aside, and reduce the heat.
- Add a little more olive oil if the casserole is dry, then add the onions, carrots, and celery and, after a couple minutes, the garlic too, and lightly brown everything, stirring it all together.
- Add the wine, and reduce by a quarter. When the smell of alcohol has evaporated, add the tomatoes and juice and seasoning thyme and bring it back to a light boil. When it begins to boil again, add the stock, and return it to a light boil.
- Add the veal shanks, and baste with the sauce – about five minutes. At this point, cover the casserole and transition it to the preheated over to bake for about 1.5 hours. Baste several times during this time.
- When you are ready to serve, plate each veal shank in a shallow bowl, and add enough sauce to cover the veal shank about halfway. Sprinkle the veal and sauce with Gremolata topping (recipe below), and serve warm.
Gremolata (topping/garnish) a mixture of:
- 1 large garlic clove, very finely minced
- Grated rind of one lemon
- ¼ cup finely chopped parsley
- ¼ cup fine breadcrumbs
Adapted from Florence Fabricant – NY Times Cooking
