Osso Buco

Wednesday 18 February

Yet another smuggled meaty object from Antipastos up north. Holt was busy teaching, so Barbara got Marcella Hazan down from the shelf (and was she ever miffed at being up there!) and did a slow braise, perfuming the house with the sweet smell of sacrifice.
We had two thin circles of veal shank, with the outer skin on - it holds them together while they cook. Preheated the oven to 350 degrees, while dusting the veal with salted and peppered flour. Then browned them in oil in our Dutch oven, and set them aside. Into the Dutch oven went a knob of butter, a pour of olive oil, and a big onion, big carrot, and stalk of celery, all chopped up. These cooked until softened, then were moistened with some white wine wine, and cooked a while with two nice strips of lemon zest, about a half cup of frozen stock, a pound can of good tomatoes, a teaspoon of chopped thyme, and some sprigs of parsley. Then the veal circles got tucked under the vegetables, the pot was brought to a simmer, and it got covered and put into to the oven for 2-3 hours, where it was basted now and then (probably not as often as Marcella wanted.
The result was savory and delicious all by itself; as Marcella says, you can sprinkle gremolada over it, but why would you?