Veal Osso Bucco Recipe by Julie Goodwin

There’s nothing better than arriving home from work after a busy day to find that the slow cooker has been lovingly braising a delicious dinner for you.  Winter is the season for lush, flavourful stews and soups.  Osso Bucco would have to be one of the best around.

Osso Bucco

Serves: 4 Prep time: 20 minutes   Cooking time: up to 3 hours

½ cup plain flour

¼ tsp salt

¼ tsp ground white pepper

4 veal osso bucco (around 1.2 kg)

3 tbs oil

2 carrots, diced

3 celery sticks, diced

2 onions, diced

4 cloves garlic, chopped

¼ cup tomato paste

1 ½ cups white wine

1 ½ cups veal or beef stock

1 x  400g tins chopped tomatoes

2 bay leaves

Combine flour, salt and pepper in a large bowl.  Coat the osso bucco in the flour.  Be careful to shake off the excess flour, otherwise it will burn in the pan.

In a large fry pan, heat 1 tablespoon oil over a medium-high heat.  Brown the osso bucco 2 until golden, and transfer to the bowl of a slow cooker.

Lower the heat to medium.  With the last tbs oil, add the carrot, onion and garlic.  Saute for 3-4  minutes or until the onion is translucent but not brown.

Add tomato paste to the vegetables and cook for a further minute.

Into the pan, add wine, stock, tomatoes and bay leaves.  Add any of the leftover flour from coating the osso bucco.

Place the vegetable mixture into the slow cooker.  Make sure all the meat is submerged in the liquid – any meat poking out the top will be tough and dry.

Put the lid on and leave for 3-5 hours.  Check from 3 hours onwards, and when the veal is soft and falling away from the bone, it is ready.

When the meat is cooked, if the sauce needs to be thickened further, remove the meat and keep under foil.  Pour the sauce into a pot and place on a medium-low heat back on the stove top and boil until the sauce is as thick as you like it.  Be careful to keep stirring so nothing burns.

Serve on mashed potato, Milanese risotto or soft polenta.  Top with gremolata – see below.

Gremolata

Combine ½ cup finely chopped parsley, 2 cloves finely chopped garlic and 1 tbs lemon zest.  Sprinkle over the osso bucco.