Osso buco

I happened to be in the grocery store early when I ran across some veal shanks. The only reason I mention this is because they tend to disappear quickly, so most times you won't ever see them. I took advantage of my luck and promptly added a package to my cart.

veal shanks
olive oil
1 carrot chopped

1 onion diced

1 celery stalk chopped
2 tablespoons fresh thyme
2 cups tomato sauce
2 cups chicken stock
2 cups white wine

Start by browning the veal shanks thoroughly. If I had a dutch oven I would have started off in that, but since I do not have one I started in a pan. Once the shanks are well browned remove them. Add the carrot, onion, celery and thyme into the same pan. Cook until the onions are soft about 8 minutes. Add the tomato sauce, chicken stock and wine, deglaze the pan and bring to a boil. I then transferred the contents into a casserole dish that contained the awaiting veal shanks and what liquid had settled out of them from earlier. If you have a dutch oven just add the shanks back into it. Slap it all into a 375 degree oven for 2 hrs or until the meat is falling off of the bone. It is possible to overcook veal shanks...

Rissoto

Heat one can of chicken stock on the stove, just under boiling.

Finely dice a small onion. In a medium sized pan heat a couple of tablespoons of olive oil. Cook the onion until it is translucent. Add in a pinch of saffron while the onion is cooking. Add in a cup of rissoto and just let it sort of fry for a minute or so. Now, you need to have whatever it is you are drinking nearby because you cannot leave the stove for the next fifteen to twenty minutes. In my case it was Carr cabernet sauvignon, I'll come back to that later.

Add in chicken stock a ladle at the time and stir it into the rissoto. As the rissoto absorbs the liquid add more as necessary. Continue to do this until all of the stock is in the rissoto. When all of the stock is absorbed add in a tablespoon of butter, stirring the whole while. Make sure to sample the rissoto to see that it is al dente but not cruncy, this is important. If it is still crunchy keep stirring.

Once you have it where you want it, add in a half a cup or so of pamigiano reggiano. I had pecorino so I used that instead, which worked out well.

Take the rissoto to a platter, top with the veal shanks and some of the stew liquid from the shanks. Pour another glass of wine and enjoy!

Joseph Carr, the best wine $20 can buy!

If you see it buy a case.