Recently I had a go at Osso Bucco, a rich Italian stew of veal or beef shin. I love veal. It suffers from pretty awful PR and there is a degree of re-education required around its production. British Rose Veal is quite different to White Veal, the rearing of which has been banned in the UK for decades. Rose Veal, so named for its colour; a rich, healthy looking pink, comes from bull calves that like it or not, would be wasted by-products of the dairy industry if not reared for meat. It is weaned and goes onto lead an active, free-range life. Most veal is slaughtered at around 10 months, older than most lamb and almost all commercially produced pork. There are some supermarkets that stock British Rose Veal but the best place to purchase it is from smaller producers. I buy mine from Good Life Farming based in Perth.
You can absolutely switch out the veal for beef shin if you’d prefer, just make sure you buy bone-in as the flavour from the marrow is key to adding richness to the sauce. Using a slow cooker means you can leave the dish to simmer away gently while you get on with your day, but there are one or two prep stages you’ll need to carry out to ensure the best results.
Firstly, trim the shins if needed, and then dust with seasoned plain flour. Heat up the butter and olive oil in a wide pan and brown the meat well on all sides. This is a vital part of the process and must not be skipped! Browning meat releases the natural sugars and creates a beautifully caramelised crust which tastes delicious and helps to build flavour. Once the meat is browned, set aside and add the garlic, sliced onions and diced carrot and celery to the same pan, using the flavoured oil to cook them out for a few minutes and scraping up all the good bits left over from the browning.
Again, taking the time to do this ensures that you are layering additional flavour into the final dish. Turn up the heat and pour in 175ml of white wine. After a minute or two, tip the veg and wine into the bottom of your slow cooker and nestle the well-browned veal or beef shanks on top. Mix one teaspoon of onion powder and one teaspoon of porcini powder into 200ml of passata with a pinch of sugar. Season with salt and pepper and pour into the slow cooker. I add a cube of home-made demi-glace (ultra-reduced veal stock) here but if you don’t have that, a small pot of concentrated beef stock like a Knorr Stock pot will do in its stead. Melt it first in a little boiling water before adding to the rest of the ingredients. Throw in a couple of bay leaves and a few sprigs of thyme. Pop the lid on and leave on low for 6 hours or until very tender. If your sauce is still quite thin, which can happen with slow cooking as so much steam is created, spoon it out and reduce it on a high heat. Check for seasoning and remove the bay leaves and thyme stems.
I like to serve it with polenta, which I make according to the pack instructions. Each will be slightly different but will involve water or stock and lots of stirring. I add a handful of grated pecorino and a knob of butter at the end with a good grind of black pepper.
Spread the polenta on a serving dish and spoon over the sauce, placing the shanks in the centre. Scatter over a handful of basil leaves and drizzle with good quality extra virgin olive oil. A loaf of crusty bread won’t go amiss here either. Nor would a glass of red, but that goes for anytime after the schools go back. Serves 4.
4 veal osso bucco joints or beef shin with bone in
50g plain flour, seasoned
50g unsalted butter
3 tbsp olive oil
1 clove grated garlic
2 large diced carrots
2 large diced celery sticks
175ml dry white wine
200ml passata or blended tinned tomatoes
2 bay leaves
Few sprigs thyme
1 tsp porcini powder (you can use Marmite instead)
1 tsp onion powder
Pinch caster sugar
1 inch cube of demi-glace or 1 beef stock pot
500g dried polenta
Olive oil
100g grated pecorino
