As our daughter Julia keeps reminding us, Valentine’s Day is just around the corner, so it’s high time to make those dinner reservations. Or maybe not. Restaurants are crowded, servers are harried, kitchens are pressed and diners are rushed. The chances of disappointment run pretty high.
So why not feed the flames of passion with a home-cooked meal?
It’s February, after all, so you’ll want something substantial and warming. And you don’t want to be obsessing over the internal temperature of your roast or fiddling with a delicate sauce when you should be giving thoughtful compliments and being a good listener. So you’ll need something you can make ahead and serve with ease. But your dinner ought to be a little extravagant, a little showy. It needs to seem like you went to some trouble.
I think this dish is just the ticket. Osso Buco is a traditional Italian dish of braised veal shanks that can be made up to three days in advance of your romantic rendezvous and simply reheated. And this isn’t just fancy pot roast. On the plate, the whole slices of veal shank look fit for a king, and the brightly colored sauce is bursting with big flavors –wine, herbs, oranges. A final topping of gremolata, a condiment made of garlic, parsley and lemon zest, gives the dish a bright, aromatic finish. It’s irresistible.
Osso buco is traditionally served with saffron risotto, which you can’t really make in advance –but you can stir it up in about 20 minutes while you’re chatting over a glass or two of champagne. The bright yellow creamy risotto is a beautifully luxurious side dish, but reheated mashed potatoes are also a delicious complement if you’d rather avoid any last-minute cooking.
Recipe
Ingredients
For the Osso Buco:
About 4 pounds (1.8 kg) veal shanks
About 1/4 cup (30g) flour
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons butter
2 medium onions, chopped
2 carrots, chopped
2 celery ribs, chopped
1/2 bottle dry white wine
1 14.5 ounce (435g) can plum tomatoes, chopped
2 garlic cloves, chopped
grated zest of two oranges
4 whole sage leaves
1 sprig of fresh rosemary
1 dried bay leaf
1 sprig fresh parsley
1 cup (250ml) or more chicken or veal stock
salt and pepper
For the Gremolata:
3 or 4 cloves of garlic, depending on size
a small bunch of flat-leaf parsley
grated zest of 2 lemons
Saffron Risotto (recipe below)
Instructions
1. Heat the oven to 350F (175C). Peel and chop the vegetables, roughly chop the tomatoes (reserving the juice) and grate the orange zest, taking care to avoid the bitter white pith.
2. Pour the flour onto a plate. Season the veal slices generously with salt and pepper on all sides and then dredge them on the flour, patting them to knock off the excess.
3. Heat the oil and butter over medium-high heat in a heavy pot large enough for all the veal slices to fit in a single layer. In two batches, brown the veal on both sides and then remove to a plate. (This will take about 3-4 minutes per side. Don’t rush this –you want the veal to be beautifully golden brown.)
4. Reduce the heat to medium and add the onion, celery and carrot and a couple of pinches of salt. Sauté until tender and golden, about 6 minutes. Pour in the wine and boil until reduced by half, stirring occasionally.
5. Add the tomatoes, garlic, orange zest, sage, bay leaf, rosemary, parsley and several good grinds of black pepper. Stir well.
6. Nestle your golden veal slices into this sauce and add just enough stock to bring it about half-way up the sides of the meat, or just a bit more. Cover tightly and bring to a boil. Transfer to the oven and cook until the meat is very tender and falling off the bone, about 1 1/2 to 2 hours. Check every half hour or so to see if the pot seems dry, and, if so, add more stock.
7. While you’re enjoying the mouth-waterind aroma of your braising veal, make the gremolata. Chop the garlic finely. Remove the stems from the parsley (at least the larger ones) and chop it together with the garlic. Grate the lemon zest (again taking care to avoid the bitter white pith) and stir it in. Inhale the heady aroma of your creation and pile the gremolata in a bowl.
8. When the veal is fully cooked, remove it from the oven and then remove the veal slices from the sauce. Fish out the sage leaves and parsley and rosemary stems and then taste and adjust the sauce with salt and pepper.
You can return the veal to the sauce and store it for up to 3 days in the fridge, or serve it right away with a generous sprinkle of the gremolata. (Put the bowl of gremolata on the table so your guests can add more if they wish.) The classic accompaniment is saffron risotto (recipe below) but mashed or boiled potatoes or polenta are delicious too. Either way, it’s an impressive and incredibly tasty treat for the ones you love.
Saffron Risotto (Risotta alla Milanese)
Ingredients
6 cups (1.4l)chicken stock or low-salt chicken broth
1/4 cup (60ml) olive oil
1 small onion, minced
2 1/2 cups (590ml) Carnaroli or Arborio rice
1 teaspoon saffron threads, crumbled
3/4 cup (180ml) dry white wine
5 tablespoons unsalted butter
3 ounces (180g) freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
salt and pepper
Instructions
1. Warm the chicken stock in a small saucepan, and keep it warm.
2. In a large saucepan over medium heat, warm the olive oil for about a minute. Add the onion and sauté, stirring occasionally until it’s tender and translucent but not colored, about 5 minutes.
3. Add the rice and the saffron, stir well and toast for about a minute. Don’t let the rice or onion take on any color.
4. Add the wine and cook until it’s almost completely absorbed.
5. Add about two cups (500ml) of the chicken stock and cook, stirring frequently, until it’s almost fully absorbed. Then add stock, a ladle or two at a time, cooking and stirring frequently until the liquid is almost fully absorbed between additions. There’s not need to stir the rice constantly, but keep an eye on the pan so it doesn’t dry out and stick. When the stock is nearly gone and the rice is al dente, remove the pan from the heat, add the butter and cheese and stir vigorously for about a minute. If the risotto seems too stiff, add a bit more stock to loosen it up. (It should be thick, but it should still flow slowly.) Season to taste with salt and pepper and serve immediately.
