Recipe - Osso Buco Alla Milanese

4 tablespoon Olive oil
6 Portions of veal shank
(about 6 pounds total) See
note
One fourth cup Flour
1 cup Onion, finely chopped
One half cup Carrots, finely chopped
One half cup Celery, chopped
1 lg Clove garlic, minced
1 One half cup Dry white wine
1 One half cup Tomatoes, peeled, seeded,
chopped (canned tomatoes,
drained and chopped may
substitute)
1 One fourth cup Stock (veal, beef, or
chicken
One half teaspoon Dried thyme
Salt and freshly ground
black pepper
Gremolata (See recipe)

1 Melt the oil in a heavy casserole large enough to hold the veal in a
single layer. Dust shank pieces with flour and lightly brown on all sides
over medium heat. You may find the browning easier if you do not put all
the shanks in the pan at once. Do not allow them to become dark or
blackened. Remove the shanks from the casserole and lower heat.

2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

3. To the casserole, add onions, carrots and celery and saute, stirring
until they begin to soften. Add garlic and saute a minute longer. Add wine
and cook over mediumhigh heat, scraping the pan until all the brown bits
clinging to it have dissolved. Stir in the tomatoes, stock and thyme.

4. Return the shanks to the casserole, basting with the sauce. Season with
salt and pepper, cover and bake in the preheated oven about one and
onehalf hours until the meat is tender when pierced with a fork, Baste the
shanks several times during baking.

5. Remove shanks to a serving dish and keep warm. Taste sauce and season
with salt and pepper if necessary. If the sauce is too thin (it should be
about the consistency of cream), place the pan on top of the stove and boil
down the sauce for several minutes.

6. Pour sauce over the shanks and top with a little of the gremolata. Pass
the rest on the side.
NOTES : Note: For osso buco, have the butcher saw the veal into
twoandahalf to threeinch lengths so they average about a pound apiece.
They should have a thin, transparent "skin" wrapping the meat. Do not emove
this membrane because it holds the shanks together. If it has been removed,
the meat should be tied with a string. "Among the hearty stewlike
preparations ..., the Italian osso buco ranks as a classic.. Osso buco
means "bone with a hole." The shank bone is hollow, filled with delectable
marrow. It is traditional to serve long, slender marrow spoons with this
dish to facilitate removing the marrow and enjoying it (cocktail forks are
adequate substitutes. Gremolata, a garnish of minced lemon peel, garlic and
parsley, is another requirement. Although risotto ... is generally served
separately as a first course in Italy, with osso buco it becomes the
exception, accompanying the main course meat on the same plate. It is
essential to use imported Italian rice..."

Posted to TNT Prodigy's Recipe Exchange Newsletter 09 Jan 97

Recipe by: From the New York Times, Oct. 27, 1985

From: Lou Parris lbparris@earthlink.net

Date: Thu, 09 Jan 1997 21:43:52 0600