Osso Buco

Ingredients

• 10 meaty veal shanks, 2 to 3 inches thick
• Salt and pepper
• 1/2 to 2/3 cup all-purpose flour
• 6 tablespoons butter, divided
• 4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, 4 turns of the pan
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 2 large carrots, peeled and cut into a fine dice
• 4 ribs celery, chopped
• 6 to 8 cloves garlic, crushed
• 3 sprigs fresh rosemary, stripped and finely chopped, about 2 tablespoons
• 1/2 teaspoon allspice
• 2 cups white wine
• 1 (28-ounce) can chunky style crushed tomatoes
• 2 cups chicken stock
• 2 (14-ounce) cans, cannelloni beans, drained
• 1 lemon, rind cut into pieces

Gremolata:

• 2 lemons, zested
• 4 cloves garlic, crushed
• 6 anchovy fillets in oil, drained
• 1 cup flat leaf parsley leaves, 3 handfuls
• Garlic Lemon Potatoes, recipe follows

Directions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Place a large, heavy bottomed skillet on the stove and heat pan over moderate to high flame. Salt and pepper the shanks and coat lightly and evenly in flour. Working in 2 batches, brown shanks in 1 1/2 tablespoons each butter and olive oil. Transfer shanks to a large roasting pan. Add remaining butter and oil to the pan and saute the root vegetables and crushed garlic 5 minutes, seasoning them with rosemary, allspice, salt and pepper. Add wine to the pan and reduce 2 to 3 minutes, lifting pan drippings up off the bottom of your pot. Add tomatoes, chicken stock and white beans to the pan and remove from heat. Stir to combine sauce. Pour sauce and vegetables evenly over shanks. Cover roasting pan tightly and roast for 1 1/2 to 2 hours, until meat is very tender and pulling easily from bone. Baste meat in juices and sauce every 1/2 hour. In the last 1/2 hour, add lemon rinds to sauce.

Combine lemon zest, garlic, anchovies and parsley in a large pile. Mill the mixture with your knife into a finely chopped condiment.

To serve, place shank in a rimmed plate and spoon juices, beans and vegetable bits over and around meat. Top with a generous sprinkle of gremolata. Serve with Sauteed dark greens and crusty bread and/or garlic lemon potatoes.

Roasted Garlic and Lemon Smashed Potatoes:

• 2 bulbs garlic
• Extra-virgin olive oil, for drizzling
• 3 1/2 pounds white skinned medium potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks
• 1/4 to 1/2 cup half-and-half or more, if needed
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1/2 cup chicken stock
• 1 lemon, juiced
• Salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Cut ends of garlic bulbs off to expose cloves. Coat the bulbs lightly with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil, about 1 tablespoon. Wrap bulbs in a double layer of tin foil and place packets in a hot oven. If preparing with above menu, place cloves in oven half way through cooking process of Osso Buco. Roast garlic 45 minutes. Remove bulbs from oven, unwrap and let cool 10 minutes.

Boil potatoes in salted water for 12 minutes, until fork tender. Drain and return cooked potatoes to the hot pot to dry them out. Add half-and-half, butter and chicken stock to the pan. Squeeze roasted garlic into the potato pot and mash with a masher into a slightly lumpy consistency. Add the juice of 1 lemon and salt and pepper, to taste. Serve immediately.

Yield: 10 servings