Ossobuco is a traditional Italian dish made from braised veal shank. The name literally means "hollow bone" (from Italian osso — "bone" and buco — "hole"), since the bone with its marrow is an integral part of the dish. The cut of shank sliced into cross-sections is also called ossobuco. Finding the shank sliced this way turned out to be not so easy — apparently our local butchers aren't familiar with the cutting method used for this Italian dish)) But I did find it, though the pieces were quite thick, they worked perfectly. If you can't find it, you might try cutting a whole shank at home with some help, or ask a butcher at the market to do it for you. Alternatively, you can simply buy boneless shank cut into pieces — it will still be a delicious dish. The dish is served with gremolata, a special aromatic parsley-based mixture. P.S. The ossobuco turned out incredibly delicious — very tender, soft, and fragrant meat complemented by a wonderful sauce. In my opinion, this is a true restaurant-quality dish, very refined, and I am beyond pleased! It's been a long time since I've had meat this good!
Ingredients:
- 1 kg beef shank
- 200 g carrots
- 200 g onion
- 200 g tomatoes
- 1 celery stalk
- 1 tbsp tomato paste
- 3-4 cloves garlic
- salt, pepper
- dry white wine (optional)
- bay leaf, allspice berries
- vegetable oil or ghee (for frying)
- Gremolata:
- zest of half a lemon
- 4-5 sprigs parsley
- 2-3 cloves garlic
How to cook ossobuco
Heat a little vegetable oil or ghee in a skillet (I use ghee) and sear the meat on both sides until lightly browned. Then transfer the meat to a large heavy-bottomed pot.
In the same skillet, heat a little more oil and sauté the finely chopped onion, garlic, diced carrots, and celery until softened.
Add the peeled and diced tomatoes along with the tomato paste. Pour in about 400 ml of boiling water. Season with salt and pepper. Add the bay leaf and allspice — you can wrap them in a small piece of cheesecloth or place them in a closed tea strainer so they can be easily removed later. Add dry white wine if desired — I didn't.
Braise for about 2 hours covered over low heat, until the meat is fully cooked. This long braising time is essential! The meat should become very tender and soft. This is what the finished result looks like.
While the meat is cooking, prepare the gremolata. In a bowl, combine the finely chopped parsley, minced garlic, and lemon zest (the easiest way to get the zest is to grate the lemon on a fine grater, taking only the yellow layer).
When the meat is done, stir some of the gremolata into the pot and turn off the heat. Serve the ossobuco with the vegetable sauce, sprinkling additional gremolata over the top of the meat. Ossobuco is incredibly delicious and tender — a dish the whole family will love! So, so good! And the impression I made on my husband when I told him before lunch that he was about to eat ossobuco with gremolata was priceless)) By the way, you're also supposed to eat the marrow, scooping it out with a small spoon — great on toasted bread — but eating the marrow is entirely optional of course))
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