Osso Buco (Veal Shanks)

Ingredients
4 2-inch veal shank pieces, tied around the center with string
Salt and freshly ground pepper
1/4 cup all purpose flour
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium onion, minced
1 medium carrot, finely chopped
1 medium celery stalk, finely chopped
3 thyme sprigs or 1/4 teaspoon dried
2 parsley sprigs
1 bay leaf
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
1/2 cup dry white wine
3 medium garlic cloves, minced
1 1/2 cups brown veal stock or rich chicken stock (I use canned chicken broth)
1 1/2 lb ripe tomatoes, peeled, chopped and seeded (I use 1 medium can of chopped tomatoes

Gremolata
3 tablespoons minced fresh parsley
1 small clove garlic, finely minced
1/2 teaspoon finely grated lemon peel

Directions
  1. Preheat oven to 350°.
  2. Pat veal dry.
  3. Sprinkle both sides with salt and pepper.
  4. Dredge in flour, removing excess.
  5. Melt butter with oil in a heavy large ovenproof skillet with high sides over medium high heat.
  6. Add veal and brown on all sides.
  7. Transfer to plate.
  8. Reduce heat to low.
  9. Add onion, carrot and celery to skillet.
  10. Stir until vegetables are tender, scraping up any browned bits, about 5 minutes.
  11. Tie thyme, parsley sprigs, bay leaf and basil in cheesecloth.
  12. Add to skillet.
  13. Mix in wine and garlic.
  14. Boil until most of the liquid evaporates, stirring constantly.
  15. Return veal, bone side up, to skillet.
  16. Add stock and tomatoes.
  17. Return to boil.
  18. Cover.
  19. Transfer to oven and bake until veal is very tender when pierced with tip of sharp knife, about 1 1/2 hours, shaking pan occasionally to prevent sticking.
  20. (I do not have this problem because I use slightly more broth then recommended. I have more trouble with the pan overflowing in the oven. You may want to put a cookie sheet on the shelf below the skillet to catch the overflow.)
  21. (If you wish to make this ahead, you can leave the skillet in the oven with the heat off for up to 3 hours. The meat will continue to cook and will stay warm.)
  22. When ready to serve, discard the herb bag.
  23. Transfer veal to serving platter and keep warm.
  24. Boil sauce until reduced to about 2 cups, stirring frequently, about 10 minutes.
  25. Adjust seasoning.
  26. Cover veal with sauce.

For Gremolata
Mix all ingredients (may be done ahead).
Sprinkle evenly over veal and sauce.
Cover and heat briefly in the oven.

Serve with Risotto alla Milanese. Knorr makes a very good packaged version.
This entire dish can be made ahead and reheated in the oven or on top of the stove.

4 servings