Tuesday, February 1, 2011

Ossobuco alla milanese (or braised veal shanks)




He sat on the scaffolding suspended from the cupola and shook his wrist for a few seconds, trying to ease the cramping of his fingers. He had been working on this window depicting St. Joseph for an hour, or maybe more he decided looking through the beautiful stained glass at the sun, which had moved considerably higher since he had last checked. Vincenzo had arrived from Leuven, Flanders with many others from all over Europe to work in the Venerable Factory of the Duomo, the construction site for the enormous gothic cathedral that was being built in the wealthy Duchy of Milan. The colors of his glass were renown because they were particularly striking, especially the yellow inserts. His secret was that he always added a touch of saffron when preparing the glass.  He decided to stop for a quick lunch, suspended in the air because there was always much to do and little time to climb down and chat with the others. He had brought a bowl of rice, which grew plentiful in the countryside surrounding the city and was cheap to buy, to work. He untied the knot in the cloth that he had wrapped his lunch in and just as he was moving his work utensils to the side, a fellow worker hollered from the scaffolding above.
"Perfundavalle! Buon appetito!".


Startled, he knocked over a tiny jar of the precious saffron he carried with his tools at all times and a little fell into the wooden bowl of rice. Vae! he mumbled in Latin, this was not good. So much waste of prized saffron and a ruined lunch! His stomach grumbled as he thought about what to do. He decided to taste the rice anyway, he was too hungry to wait till sunset and he had some wine to wash it down with. After all, saffron was a plant, how bad could it be? He stuck his fingers in the bowl, took a few kernels of rice, closed his eyes and stuffed them in his mouth. He chewed slowly, ready to spit out the offending bite. He chewed some more and sides of his mouth turned up into a big smile. This was delicious! Who would have ever thought saffron was so good? And the rice looked as beautiful as it tasted, with its yellow hue.



That is how the legend goes, regarding the birth of Milan's most famous dish, risotto giallo or allo zafferano. It is a versatile dish that can be eaten many different ways, as a first course or as a main course served with ossobuco, like the recipe I posted. It is always good to make in abundance so you have leftovers for riso al salto the next day, a crunchy, thin, pan-fried version of the rice beloved to all Milanese.



As you may or may have not have noticed, it has been a while since I last posted. I was offered a very interesting work opportunity last week that I couldn't turn down, despite the deadline being atrociously near, the amount of work being quite daunting and the fact that I have a full time job and pretty noisy children. This job involves writing, translating, researching to a certain extent. I am reading a lot on historical and artistic facts about the Duomo, Milan's cathedral.



It just so happened that when I received the file on the Duomo in my mailbox, I had 4 ossobuchi defrosting in my fridge. The more I read and wrote about the past glory of this town and the immense human and artistic effort made for decades, even centuries, to build the cathedral, the more I was excited to be preparing this dish for my family. Besides being one of F's favorite dishes, it somehow just made sense with its perfect timing, it made me feel connected to this city that often seems unattractive but that has some beautiful hidden secrets if you are willing to scratch a little beneath the surface. And so here is my ode to Milan, Oss bus a la milanesa con gremolata.


Ingredients

For Ossobuco

4 ossobuchi (veal shanks)
1/2 onion
meat or vegetable stock
butter
flour
1 glass of white wine
a cup of chopped fresh or canned crushed tomatoes
a pinch of salt and pepper
For Risotto giallo
1/2 onion
plenty vegetable or meat stock
250gr small grain rice (preferably arborio or vialone nano) butter approx. 3 tbsp
1 cup grated parmesan
2 sachets (a little under half a 1/2 tsp) saffron  

For Gremolata
zest of 1 lemon
a bunch of parsley
1 anchovy
1 clove of garlic



Start by making a pot of stock, because you will need it to make the ossobuco and the risotto. I threw in some carrots and carrot peel, the tougher stems of a celery stalk and its leaves, an onion and a little salt and I let approximately 2 liters of water simmer for about an hour.
Chop an onion and set half of it aside for the risotto. Melt some butter into a heavy-based pot with lid or a Dutch oven and start sweating the onions. Until recently, butter was the main fat used for cooking in this area of Italy. Dry the meat, cut the outer membrane so the meat won't curl whilst cooking. Coat in flour. When the onions have softened, add in the meat, sprinkle with pepper and salt and brown nicely on both sides. Add a glass of wine, let it evaporate and pour in a ladle of stock before covering. You can also add a chopped fresh tomato or a little tomato paste for colour, but when the recipe originated tomatoes were not common in Northern Italian cuisine, so I tried making it without this time. Cook for an hour and a half on a low flame, until meat is tender. If it dries out while cooking, add some more stock and make sure the meat doesn't stick.
In the meantime you can start preparing the gremolata, a chopped condiment you sprinkle over the meat. Mix the zest of 1 lemon with a bunch of chopped parsley, one chopped-up anchovy and some grated garlic. Set aside.
When the meat is almost ready you can start making your risotto. Follow the basic instructions I posted here. Use butter to sweat the onions, toast the rice for a few minutes, add the stock and then the saffron half way through. Don't forget some butter and cheese a few minutes before taking off of the stove.
Serve the risotto on a plate with the ossobuco and sprinkle some gremolata over it. Make sure you taste the bone marrow, because it is undoubtedly the best part, 'il boccone del re' (the king's bite)!








18 comments:

  1. Oh this looks so good, really rich and delicious. This is a great dinner for when you want a real treat.
    *kisses* HH

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  2. One of my absolute favorites...and what I'll probably be making on Valentine's Day. Looks delicious!

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  3. Everything about this post is dreamy! I love the legend and hoe the dish came to be!

    Congrats on the new job - awesome news and sounds right up your alley!

    Now pass me some Ossobuco!

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  4. I never tried to make it without some crushed tomatoes. I'll have to try that sometime.

    My husband loves ossobuco and I made it this weekend. I usually serve mine with risotto but this time served it over polenta

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  5. HH - it certainly is a dish for cold weather.
    Melissa - Hope you have a wonderful Valentine's Day
    DD&W - I love these legends about food, who knows if there is even a tiny bit of truth? One thing is for sure, this man really existed and worked on the stained glass windows of the church. His name is in the archives...
    Pat - ossobuco and polenta are also a match made in heaven. And you really need the tomato-based sauce for that, so the polenta can soak up all the goodness

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  6. Mmm that looks like a big hug! And I had no idea that was the legend! :D

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  7. I love ossobuco but veal shanks have become very difficult to fine here in Oregon. More's the pity. I was completely charmed by your post today. I'm new to your blog and after browsing through some of your earlier entries I know I'll definitely be returning for visits in the future. I really like the food and recipes you feature here and I love your introductions to them. I hope you have a great day. Blessings...MAry

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  8. Oh my! This risotto looks perfect! I loved the saffron story and it's always interesting to hear legends of how things came about!

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  9. What a fascinating story of saffron.I had not heard it before. I love Osso Buco

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  10. Congratulations on the job! And have you ever climbed up Milan's Duomo and walked on the roof? Stunning! You must! And Ossobuco with risotto alla milanese is one of our favorite favorite dishes and yours looks absolutely perfect! Oooh now I have to make it again. Delicious... and reminds me of Milan.

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  11. Lorraine - It's a cute story, isn't it?
    Mary - Hi there, so nice to meet you! Glad you are enjoying the blof, a lot of love goes into it. I am always happy to discover new blogs, I am off to read yours immediately.
    Peggy - Yes, once again, I will never stop saying how much I love to learn about the history of food, true and legendary.
    Barbara - Who knows how many more tales arose around the most expensive ingredient in the world?
    Jamie - we sometimes walk up on those perfect spring days to look around and read a book. Is is truly stunning. Both the view and the architecture/art so close up. And great exercise! One day you must tell me more of your time in Milan. Ciao!

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  12. Oh wow, my mouth is watering - one of my favorite dishes and one that I do not really know how to make! Hopefully I will be brave enough to give it a try! (You may turn me into an Italian cook yet...) Lovely post - enjoyed reading ur story!

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  13. Gosh....I seriously loved this post and the passion you radiated. It's awesome that you take such pleasure in your work. It's awesome how you can learn the most interesting things anywhere! And yay to a new work opportunity!!

    Btw, can I join you for dinner? I'll bring the wine...;-)

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  14. UrMomCooks - as always, if I made it, you can! It is certainly easier than creating stained glass windows ;o)
    Sophia - You can bring anything you make, I would be happy.

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  15. Fiona, ormai sei più milanese di una milanese nata e cresciuta qui! Il tuo risotto con ossobuco è perfetto! :)

    Come stai? Sono stata molto presa col lavoro e non ho seguito molto i blog, ma ti leggo sempre anche se non commento!

    A presto
    Jasmine

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  16. Congratulations on your new job! This must be so exciting for you.

    I loved the story on this dish. I've never heard of it. It makes me want to taste ossobuco alla milanese even more now :) Such a great recipe!
    Magda

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  17. Jasmine - ciao cara! anch'io incasinata con il lavoro in questo periodo ma sempre avida lettrice del tuo blog. Poi mi devi raccontare tutte le tue novità. Spero tutto bene.
    MyLEK - Hi Magda, I am finally almost done with this job, so I can get back to cooking. It is a fun story, I agree. You must taste it, it is addicting.

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  18. I can relate to what you said about the blogging community; I have met a few of my followers, and it has been heartwarming; very thoughtful what you all are doing for Monet. Osso Busso is my kids favorite dish and I used to make it often while they were growing up, until the price of veal in the US became very steep. I want to make it again now! Great recipe, very classic.

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