Osso Buco

I love sleeping in on Sundays. It feels so good when I don't need to be up and about eating breakfast and being my perky self. The only time I get up early is when I make a braised meat dish for the family Sunday lunch. This usually involves beef that requires at least three hours for braising. A favorite dish in my household is Osso Buco.

The term osso buco means "bone with a hole". Osso Buco is a Milanese dish of beef shanks browned in oil and then braised in a chunky tomato sauce with vegetables. It is often served with mashed potatoes, risotto or as is the tradition in the Philippines served with steamed rice.

This is a fairly easy dish to prepare. The only time consuming part is the browning of the meat and sauteeing the vegetables. The rest of the time I just let it simmer away. I can go online or watch some television while waiting. I just check on the Osso Buco every now and then if it needs stirring or more broth.

Osso Buco

1.5 kilos bone-in beef shank (about 4 large pieces)

Marinade:

1/4 cup patis (fish sauce)

juice of 4 calamansi (Philippine lemon)

1/2 teaspoon fresh crack black pepper

1/4 cup flour

1/4 cup canola oil

5 garlic cloves, crushed

1 large onion, diced

1 large carrot, diced

2 stalks celery, diced

2 bay leaves

1- 400 grams can whole peeled tomatoes

2 to 3 cups beef broth

salt and pepper to taste

chopped flat leaf parsley for garnish

1. Marinate beef shanks in fish sauce, calamansi juice and black pepper for an hour.
2. Dredge the marinated shanks in flour.
3. Heat oil in skillet and brown shanks on all sides. Remove beef from pan. Set aside.
4. In the same pan, saute garlic, onion, carrot and celery about 5 minutes.
5. Put seared shanks in pan with vegetables.
6. Add bay leaves, tomatoes and broth.
7. Let simmer until beef is fork tender about 2 hours or so adding more broth if necessary.
8. Adjust seasoning to taste.
9. Garnish with parsley before serving.

Note: This is a perfect dish to finish in the slow-cooker.

Photo courtesy of saveur.com