Osso Bucco with Risotto alla Milanese

 

 

For Osso Bucco

 

flour, for dusting

2 pork (or veal)  "Osso Bucco" steaks with bone, cut 3 inches thick

olive oil

good knob of butter

1 onion, fine chopped

1 celery stick, diced

1 carrots, diced

2 garlic cloves, fine chopped or pressed

2 bay leaves

small handful flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped

small glass of Marsala or white wine

100ml veal or chicken stock

1 tin of chopped tomatoes

 

For Saffron Risotto

 

150ml chicken stock

1 onion, finely chopped

knob of butter

olive oil

100g Arborio rice

3 pinches saffron threads

Parmesan cheese, grated

salt and pepper

For Gremolata

 

zest of 1 lemon, grated

1 garlic clove, minced or crushed

2tbsp flat-leaf parsley, chopped

 

Pre-heat the oven to 200 centigrade/ gas mark 6.

 

On a large shallow plate, sprinkle and season flour with salt and pepper. Dredge the osso bucco steaks in the mixture, tapping off any excess.

 

Put a large heavy-based pan, with a lid, over a medium heat and heat the oil and butter till melted. Searl the osso bucco on all sides, turn bones on sides to hold in marrow. Remove once browned and set aside.

 

To the same pan add onion, celery, carrots, garlic, bay leaves and parsley to the pan and cook lightly until softened but not coloured. Season with salt and pepper then turn up the heat to high and add the wine to deglaze the pan.

 

Return the osso bucco steaks to the pan and  add the stock and tomatoes, drizzle with olive oil then bring up to a steady simmer then cover with lid and transfer to oven to cook for about 1 1/2 hours or until the meat is tender.

 

Check a few times during cooking just incase the meat needs basting with the sauce. Once tender remove the cover and cook for a further 10 minutes to reduce the sauce a bit.

 

For gremolata combine all ingredients together in a small bowl.

 

While the osso bucco are cooking make your risotto. Bring your stock to a steady simmer and add the saffron, stirring for a couple of minutes till the saffron dissolves and colours the stock yellow. In a saucepan, melt the butter and oil over low heat till melted then sweat the onions for a few minutes till softened but not coloured. Add the rice and cook for 2 minutes, stirring to coat each grain. When rice begins to make a crackling sound, add the chicken stock a laddle at a time and allow to reduce away before adding the next laddleful, stirring often until the rice has absorbed the liquid. To test if the rice is cooked, it should be al dente (still have a little bite to it) but creamy. Remove risotto from heat, add grated cheese and season.

 

Once everything is cooked, carefully remove the osso bucco from the oven, REMEMBER THE PAN WILL BE HOT . Serve at once with the gremolata sprinkled over the osso bucco and the risotto milanese on the side.