Name: Slow cooked osso buco
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 180 min
Total time: 200 min
Yield: 4 servings
Cuisine: Italian
Ingredients: 4 beef shanks (about 400g each, 4–5 cm thick); 2 tbsp olive oil; 1 medium onion, roughly chopped; 2 medium carrots, roughly chopped; 2 celery stalks, roughly chopped; 2 cloves garlic, crushed; 250 ml dry white wine; 400 g tinned crushed tomatoes; 500 ml beef stock; 2 bay leaves; 2 sprigs fresh thyme; 1 tsp salt; ½ tsp black pepper; 2 lemons; 30 g fresh flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped; 2 cloves garlic, minced; 1 litre whole milk; 250 g polenta (cornmeal); 100 g butter; 75 g parmesan, finely grated; 1 tsp salt; ½ tsp white pepper

By Sagely Kitchen

4servings

Prep20 min

Cook3 hrs

Total3 hr 20 min

Advanced

Italian

🌾Gluten-Free⚡Keto💪High-Protein

Ingredients

For the osso buco

4 beef shanks
27 g olive oil
1 onion
2 carrots
2 celery stalks
2 clove garlic
250 ml dry white wine
400 g tinned crushed tomatoes
500 ml beef stock
2 bay leaves
2 sprig thyme
6 g salt
1 g black pepper

For the gremolata

2 lemons
30 g flat-leaf parsley
2 clove garlic

For serving

1 L whole milk
250 g polenta
100 g butter
75 g parmesan
6 g salt
2 ½ ml white pepper

Method

Prepare and brown

1
Preheat the oven to 160°C fan-forced.
2
Pat the beef shanks dry with paper towels and season generously on all sides with salt and pepper.
3
Heat the olive oil in a large heavy-based casserole over medium-high heat until shimmering, about 2 minutes.
4
Working in batches if needed, brown the shanks for 3–4 minutes per side until deeply golden (don't crowd the pan). Transfer to a plate.
5
Reduce heat to medium, add the onion, carrot, and celery to the same casserole, and cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until softened and lightly coloured.
6
Add the crushed garlic and cook for 1 minute until fragrant.

Braise

1
Pour in the white wine, scraping the bottom of the casserole with a wooden spoon to lift any browned bits. Simmer for 2 minutes.
2
Stir in the crushed tomatoes, beef stock, bay leaves, and thyme. Return the shanks to the casserole, nestling them into the liquid. The liquid should come two-thirds of the way up the sides of the meat.
3
Bring to a gentle simmer on the stovetop, then cover with the lid and transfer to the oven.
4
Braise for 2½–3 hours, turning the shanks halfway through (at 1 hour 15 minutes). The meat should be fork-tender and the sauce should have reduced slightly and deepened in colour.
5
Remove the bay leaves and thyme sprigs. Taste and adjust seasoning with salt and pepper.

Make the gremolata

1
While the meat is cooking, zest both lemons to give about 2 tbsp zest.
2
Finely chop the parsley and mince the garlic.
3
In a small bowl, combine the lemon zest, parsley, and garlic. Set aside until ready to serve.

Make the polenta

1
About 20 minutes before the osso buco is ready, pour the milk into a large saucepan and bring to the boil over medium heat, stirring occasionally to prevent a skin forming.
2
Slowly whisk in the polenta, a handful at a time, stirring constantly to avoid lumps. The mixture will splutter slightly—be careful.
3
Reduce heat to low and stir frequently for 15–20 minutes until the polenta is thick, creamy, and pulls away from the sides of the pan when you stir.
4
Remove from heat, stir in the butter, parmesan, salt, and white pepper until smooth and glossy. Taste and adjust seasoning.

Serve

1
Spoon the warm polenta into four serving bowls or onto plates.
2
Top each with a beef shank and a generous ladle of the braising liquid and vegetables.
3
Sprinkle the gremolata over the top just before serving.