Osso Bucco with Simple Italian Rice

Photo by Ian McCausland

Serves 6–8.

6 to 8 pieces veal shank
2/3 cup flour*
1/8 c each salt and pepper
4 tbsp olive oil, split
3 carrots, chopped fine
3 medium onion, chopped fine
2 celery stalks, chopped fine
2–398 ml cans of tomato Polpa**
2 cans whole, peeled San Marzano tomatoes, roughly chopped
1/2 c Italian spice blend
300 ml white or red wine

*For a gluten-free recipe, use a gluten-free pancake mix instead of flour.
**Tomato Polpa is a combination of finely chopped tomatoes and tomato juice. If you don’t have access to Polpa, use canned crushed tomatoes.

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Dredge the veal shank in a mixture of flour, salt, and pepper and set aside. Heat olive oil in a large, oven-safe pot on medium–high. Sear the veal shanks, five minutes per side until golden brown. Do not crowd or stack the veal shanks—do this carefully, one by one. Set aside the browned shanks (saving any juice from the tray they are sitting on). Remove the pot from the heat and let cool 10 minutes.

Scrape bits from the bottom of the pot and add 2 tbsp olive oil to cover the bottom of the pot. Heat the oil on medium heat. Add the carrots, onions, and celery and cook for 10–15 minutes until onions are translucent, stirring often with a wooden spoon. Stir in tomato Polpa, whole tomatoes, wine, and Italian spice blend. Let simmer for 30 minutes, stirring often.

Add the veal shank pieces to the sauce, making sure they are fully immersed. Cover with a lid and place in the oven for one hour. After one hour, reduce the oven temperature to 325°F, take the lid off the pot and continue cooking for three hours. Do not stir while the dish is in the oven.

Once you remove it from the oven, let it sit for a minimum of half an hour before serving. To serve, gently lift the shanks out of the sauce, trying to keep the bone, meat, and marrow intact. Smother with sauce and serve with simple Italian rice.

Optional: We served the osso bucco with gremolata, a simple Italian condiment made of one bunch flat-leaf parsley, chopped, one minced garlic clove, and the zest of two lemons.

Simple Italian Rice

500 g of arborio rice
Salted water
1 tbsp butter or olive oil
1 c grated Parmesan Reggiano

This easy Italian rice is cooked how you would cook pasta. Bring ample salted water to a boil (use kosher or sea salt—never use iodized salt). Add rice and cook for 14–16 minutes, stirring often. Remove from heat, drain, add butter or olive oil and grated Parmesan Reggiano.
Serve hot.

PAIR WITH: Fabio Motta 2016 Le Gonnare Rosso Superieure Tuscany, Italy

Domaine des Homs 2019 Chardonnay Pays d’Oc, France

Le Regnaie 2013 Brunello di Montalcino Tuscany, Italy

Available at Jones & Company Wine Merchants.