Recipe - Braised Veal Shanks With Green Olives And Capers

Three fourths cup Unpitted brinecured green
olives; (preferably
cracked)* rinsed well
5 pound 2inchthick veal shanks; (6
to 8 shanks), each tied
securely with kitchen
string to keep meat
attached to bone
Allpurpose flour for
dredging
2 tablespoon Olive oil
1 tablespoon Unsalted butter
1 Mediumlarge onion; halved
lengthwise and cut or sliced up thin
2 lg Garlic cloves; minced
1 Anchovy fillet; chopped
5 3byOne half inch strips fresh
lemon zest
1 One half tablespoon Drained bottled capers
1 tablespoon Finely chopped fresh
rosemary leaves OR 1
teaspoon dried; crumbled
1 One half cup Dry white wine
1 One half cup Lowsalt chicken broth

FOR GREMOLATA ACCOMPANIMENT
One fourth cup Finely chopped fresh parsley
leaves
1 tablespoon Freshly grated lemon zest
1 One half teaspoon Minced garlic; or to taste

Make Braised Veal Shanks: Preheat oven to 425øF.

Pit One fourth cup olives and chop fine. Lightly crush remaining One half cup olives
with side of a large knife.

Pat veal shanks dry between paper towels and season with salt and pepper.
Dredge top and bottom (not side) of each shank in flour, knocking off
excess. In a 12inch heavy skillet heat 1 tablespoon oil and butter over
moderately high heat until foam subsides and brown tops and bottoms of
shanks in batches, about 2 minutes on each side. Transfer shanks as browned
to a flameproof roasting pan.

Wipe out skillet and add remaining tablespoon oil. Heat oil over moderate
heat until hot but not smoking and cook onion, stirring, until golden. Add
garlic and anchovy and cook, stirring, 1 minute. Add chopped olives, zest,
capers, rosemary, and wine and boil 5 minutes. Add broth and crushed olives
and bring to a boil.

Pour broth mixture over shanks and cover tightly with foil. Braise shanks
in oven 2 hours, or until meat is tender. Shanks may be prepared up to this
point 2 days ahead and cooled, uncovered, before chilling, covered. Reheat
shanks before proceeding.

Reduce oven temperature to 325øF.

Transfer shanks with a slotted spoon to another roasting pan or deep oven
proof platter and keep warm, covered, in oven. Strain cooking liquid
through a sieve into a 1quart glass measuring cup and reserve solids,
discarding zest. Let liquid stand until fat rises to top and skim and
discard fat. (There should be about 1 One half cups liquid. If necessary, in a
saucepan boil liquid until it is reduced.) Add reserved solids to liquid
and pour over shanks.

Serve shanks sprinkled with gremolata and garnished with caper berries.

Make Gremolata: In a small bowl toss all ingredients together well. Makes
about 1/3 cup.

Serves 6
Posted to KitMailbox Digest by J Pellegrino gigimfg@ix.netcom.com on May
26, 1998