Ossobuco alla Milanese
Ossobuco alla milanese or ossobuco in bianco. I chose to make this version of ossobuco in a "natural" sauce, if I can call it that - meaning it contains only a few tomatoes - because this way the flavors from the bone marrow will come through much better than in the more modern version that calls for more tomatoes. Buonissimo!
Ingredients
4 veal ossobuco (about 750 g)
2 tablespoons oil
1 tablespoon butter
2 tablespoons flour
1 onion
1 carrot
1 celery stalk
2 canned tomatoes
1 bay leaf
3 pinches thyme
4 allspice berries
120 ml dry white wine
1 cup chicken or beef broth (or water if unavailable)
salt, pepper
Gremolata
1/4 bunch parsley
zest from 1/2 lemon (or juice from 1/2 lemon if you don't have organic lemons)
1 large garlic clove
2 anchovy fillets (optional)
How to prepare ossobuco alla milanese
- Sprinkle the ossobuco with salt and pepper, then dredge in flour. Shake off the excess. Fry the ossobuco in hot oil on both sides until lightly browned. Remove from the pan.
- Add the butter to the pan, then the vegetables (onion, celery, carrot) cut into small cubes. Saute until softened.
- Add the wine and cook for about 2 minutes to evaporate the alcohol.
- Return the meat to the pan, add the bay leaf, thyme, allspice, tomatoes crushed with a fork, and the broth (I used chicken broth). Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low. Add about 1 teaspoon salt (depending on how salty your broth is) and 2-3 pinches of pepper. Simmer covered for 1 1/2 hours. Turn the ossobuco every 30 minutes.
- Mix all the chopped ingredients for the gremolata. Add it to the dish just 5 minutes before turning off the heat.
- Serve with polenta, mashed potatoes, or risotto Milanese (saffron risotto).
Ossobuco sprinkled with flour
Fry the osso buco
Fry the vegetables
Cook for 1 1/2 hours
