Chapter 12: Osso Buco with Saffron Risotto

January’s dinner needs little introduction other than to say it was my favorite recipe for meat that I made so far on this blog. Osso Buco is a classic Italian dish of braised veal shank (though I’ve also seen recipes that use beef and lamb instead). Osso Buco literally means bone with a hole which makes sense because the meat is braised on the bone. The result is a veal so tender it falls off the bone and the rich buttery marrow inside is a decadent bonus. Saffron risotto provides a fragrant and creamy accompaniment to the meat juices and acidic tomato. I added a flash of green to the feast with sautéed spinach combined with sweet (raisins), salty (anchovies), and nutty (pine nuts). Topped off with a crunchy biscotti and a lovely group of guests, it was the perfect way to spend an evening.

The great Osso Buco marks a full year of these monthly suppers. Time has flown by. Every menu has had triumphs, challenges, and a few near catastrophes. But so far I haven’t had to order pizza to cover for a ruined meal. And most importantly, the meals have been wonderful fun both to prepare and consume. Bringing friends and family together over food is truly one of my great loves and I thank everyone who has come to a meal for joining in, indulging my hobby, and reveling over a meal in good company.  Stay tuned for more menus and recipes going forward. 2011 was just the beginning.

The Menu:

Osso Buco
Saffron Risotto (Risotto Milanese)
Meyer Lemon and Rosemary Foccacia
Spinach with Pine Nuts, Raisins, and Anchovies
Anise, Almond, and Hazelnut Biscotti

Osso Buco

Based off of recipes from the Joy of Cooking and Mario Batali.

Ingredients:
8 veal shanks, cut 3 inches thick (roughly 1 lb each)
10 tbsp olive oil
2 medium carrots, sliced into 1/4 inch thick rounds
2 onions, diced
2 celery stalks, sliced 1/4 inch thick
4 tbsp fresh thyme, chopped
4 cups Tomato Sauce (see recipe below)
4 cups chicken stock
2 cups dry white wine

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a large dutch oven, heat half of the olive oil over high heat until smoking. Pat veal shanks dry with a paper towel and season all over with salt and pepper. Place 4 of the shanks in the pan and brown, turning every 1-2 minutes to reach each side. Remove and set aside. Add remaining olive oil and repeat with remaining 4 shanks.
2. Reduce heat to medium and add the chopped carrots, onions, celery, and thyme, cooking until softened and golden, approximately 10 minutes. Add Tomato Sauce, chicken stock, and wine, bringing to a boil. Remove from heat.
3. Place shanks into a large casserole dish (you may need two) and cover with sauce, making sure the shanks are submerged at least halfway, adding more stock if necessary. Cover the dish with lid or aluminum foil. Braising in oven for 2 to 2 1/2 hours or until meat is nearly falling off the bone.
4. Remove and let stand 10 minutes before serving. Serve with Saffron Risotto and Gremolata.

Tomato Sauce

This tomato sauce is delicious in its own right as pasta sauce and is excellent for the base to braise the osso buco.

Ingredients:
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 large onion, finely diced
6 garlic cloves, minced
3 tbsp fresh thyme, chopped
1 carrot, shredded
2 28-ounce cans peeled whole tomatoes
salt to taste

1. In a large saucepan, heat the olive oil over medium heat.  Add onion and garlic and cook until softened and golden, approximately 10 minutes. Add the thyme and carrot and cook for 5 minutes more.  Crush the tomatoes between your fingers and add them with their juices. Bring to a boil, stirring often, and then lower heat, simmering for 30 minutes until sauce has thickened.

Gremolata

Ingredients:
4 tbsp parsley, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
4 tsp lemon zest, grated

1. Mix all ingredients together. Sprinkle on top of Osso Buco just before serving.

Saffron Risotto (Risotto Milanese)

Once you’ve made risotto for the first time, you will have to resist the desire to make it for dinner every night. Hearty, surprisingly foolproof, and with endless delicious varieties, it is an excellent accompaniment to a meat main or served as the headliner itself.

Ingredients:
8 cups chicken stock
1 tsp saffron threads
1/4 cup olive oil
1 large onion, diced
2 cups arborio rice
2/3 cup white wine
4 tbsp unsalted butter
1 cup Parmesan, grated

1. Heat chicken stock in a large saucepan until hot. Turn off heat and add saffron threads, stirring to infuse.
2. Meanwhile in a large heavy skillet, heat olive oil over medium-high heat. Add onion and cook until softened but not browned, approximately 10 minutes. Add the rice and stir with a wooden spoon until toasted and opaque, approximately 5 minutes.
3. Add white wine and a ladle full of stock to rice. Cook until absorbed. Continue adding stock, one ladle at a time and stirring until liquid is absorbed before adding another. Cook until rice is tender and creamy but not mushy, about 20 minutes.
4. Stir in butter and cheese. Serve warm.

Meyer Lemon and Rosemary Foccacia

Other than allowing time for the dough to rise and requiring some agility to flip the dough, foccacia is not as hard to make as I had anticipated. There were mixed opinions on the lemon slices; some thought it was too much lemon (even if the flavor left once removed from the bread was nice) and some thought it was unique and delicious. It is meyer lemon season and I can’t get enough so I fall into the latter camp. But if you prefer a more subtle taste, try mixing zest into the dough instead of placing slices on top. Adapted from Saveur Magazine.

A few notes –
– Special equipment required: pizza stone (can also use a baking sheet).
– If you have a mandoline, I recommend using it to get the thinest slices of lemon possible.

Ingredients:
1 7-gram packet active dry yeast
5 tbsp olive oil
4 cups all-purpose flour
1 tbsp salt
6-8 branches rosemary
cornmeal
1 lemon, washed and very thinly sliced into rounds
coarse sea salt

1. In a small bowl, combine yeast and 1/2 of warm (not boiling) water. Let stand 10 minutes. Add add 2 tbsp of olive oil.
2. In a large bowl, combine flour and salt. Strip and coarsely chop leaves from 4-5 of the rosemary branches and stir into flour. Add yeast mixture and 1 1/4 cups water, stirring until dough becomes too stiff to stir. Place dough on a floured surface and knead until smooth then shape into a ball, transfer to a large oiled bowl, and cover with a lightly dampened cloth. Set aside in a warm spot for approximately 2 hours, allowing dough to rise.
3. Transfer dough to a floured sheet of parchment or silicon. Press dough out to form a rectangle approximately 12 inches by 14 inches. Cover with a lightly dampened cloth and set aside for 1 hour.
4. Put pizza stone or baking sheet in the oven and preheat oven to 400 degrees. Whisk together remaining 3 tbsp oil with 1 tbsp water in small bowl.
5. Flour a second sheet of parchment or silicon and sprinkle generously with cornmeal. Remove cloth from dough and flip dough upside down onto second parchment. Dimple new top of dough with fingertips and brush with oil-and-water emulsion. Arrange lemon slices and small sprigs of remaining rosemary over dough. Replace parchment or silicon on top, flip again, peel back sheet from bottom. Sprinkle preheated pizza stone with cornmeal, flip dough onto stone, lemon slice side up and sprinkle with salt. Bake until golden, approximately 30 minutes.

Spinach with Pine Nuts, Raisins, and Anchovies

I read several similar recipes for this classic spinach dish. I was skeptical of the addition of anchovies but they add a nice salty flavor to balance the spinach and sweetness of the raisins.

Ingredients:
1/2 cup golden raisins
2 1/2 lbs tender spinach, rinsed
1/4 cup olive oil
4 cloves garlic, minced
3 anchovy fillets, minced
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp nutmeg, freshly grated
1/3 cup pine nuts, toasted

1. In a small bowl, pour hot water over raisins and soak until plump, at least 10 minutes.
2. Heat olive oil in a large heavy skillet over medium-high heat. Add garlic and cook until it begins to brown, approximately 1 minute, then add anchovies stirring 2 minutes more.
3. Add spinach to pan, cover pan with lid for 1-2 minutes to allow spinach to wilt. Remove lid and stir in raisins including remaining soaking liquid, salt, and nutmeg. Cover pan and cook for approximately 3 minutes more until spinach is fully wilted.
4. Remove lid, increase to high heat and stir until liquid has evaporated. Remove from heat, sprinkle with pine nuts and serve hot.

Anise, Almond, and Hazelnut Biscotti

A simple, flavorful finish to a rich meal. Serve with gelato or coffee. Vin Santo is another classic way to serve this dessert. Recipe courtesy of Saveur magazine.

A few notes –
– Special equipment required: 10 inch x 15 inch jelly roll pan
– If using absinthe as the liqueur, cut it with about 1/3 water.

Ingredients:
butter to grease pan
3 1/2 cups flour, plus extra
1 tbsp baking powder
2 cups whole almonds, toasted
1 1/2 cups whole hazelnuts, toasted
2 1/4 cups sugar
5 eggs
1/4 cup anise-flavored liqueur (such as pastis, sambuca, or absinthe)
1 tbsp crushed aniseed
1 tbsp vanilla extract

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Grease and lightly flour the jelly roll pan. In a large bowl, whisk together flour and baking powder. Combine with nuts. In a separate bowl, whisk together sugar and eggs and then add liqueur, aniseed, and vanilla. Fold in flour mixture. Pour into prepared pan and bake until golden, approximately 20 minutes. Let biscotti cool in pan.
2. Reduce oven to 325 degrees. Remove cooled biscotti slab from pan and using a serrated knife, cut crosswise into twenty 3/4 inch thick strips. Then cut each strip in half to form forty 5 inch long biscotti. Transfer strips to baking sheets lined with parchment paper, spaced 1/2 inch apart. Bake until golden brown, approximately 20–25 minutes. Let cool. Serve with gelato or coffee if desired.