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Veal Osso Buco served on Creamy Polenta

Veal Osso Buco served on Creamy Polenta

This is one of my husband’s favorite dishes ever. We make with veal shanks mostly but sometimes we can substitute pork shanks if we can’t get the veal. Just ask your butcher to cut these into 3 inch thick portions. We like to serve this over a nice bed of polenta.

Ingredients:

4 veal shanks
6 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 carrot diced
1 onion chopped
1 celery stak chopped
3 fresh thyme sprigs
2 cups of marinara sauce (click for recipe – but for this purpose, substitute in fresh thyme for basil)
2 cups chicken stock
2 cups dry white wine
salt and fresh ground pepper

For garnish:
Gremolata
1/4 cup chopped flat leaf parsley
1/4 cup pine nuts, toasted
zest of 1 lemon

Preparation:

Preheat the oven to 375°. Season the shanks all over with salt and pepper. In a heavy-dutch oven or pot that can go into an over, heat the olive oil. Place the shanks in the pot and brown all over, turning to get every surface, 12 to 15 minutes. Remove the shanks and set aside. Reduce the heat to medium, sauté the carrot, onion, celery and thyme leaves and cook, until slightly softened, 8 to 10 minutes. Add the marinara sauce, chicken stock and wine and bring to a boil. Place shanks back into pot, making sure they are submerged at least halfway. If shanks are not covered halfway, add more stock. Cover the pan with tight-fitting lid of aluminum foil. Place in oven for 2 to 2 1/2 hours and cook until meat is nearly falling off the bone. Remove the casserole from the oven and let stand 10 minutes before serving with Gremolata. Serve over Polenta. Find recipe here.

For the Gremolata:
Mix all ingredients together and set aside until ready to serve

Polenta

My husband becomes obsessed with making the perfect version of certain things and does endless research until he thinks he has found the best method. This polenta recipe is the result of his obsessive research. And I will say, that it is really, really good. Do not buy instant polenta. The golden pheasant brand is our favorite one that is fairly easy to find in Italian or higher end markets.

Ingredients:

1 onion chopped
1 stick unsalted butter
1 tsp salt
4 cups chicken stock
1 cup polenta
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 cup heavy whipping cream
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Preparation:

Melt butter in a medium pot. Then add onions and a punch of salt and sweat over low heat. Cook until translucent, about 10 minutes. Add stock and bring to a boil. Whisk in polenta. Add baking soda and stir to incorporate. Turn down to a simmer. Cover and cook for 30 minutes- stirring occasionally. When it is creamy and no longer gritty, the polenta is done. Finish with 1/4 cup of heavy cream and 1/4 cup of grated Parmesan.

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