Ossobuco

(adapted from Marcella Hazan's Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking)

Ready for a serious meal? My dad made this for me when I was home in February, and I've been wanting to make it ever since. Ossobuco is a classic Italian dish (as the cookbook's title would suggest), and is basically veal shank (if you're opposed to veal, you could easily go with beef) simmered in a hearty tomato sauce. There are two things that I think make it unique - one, an "aromatic mixture" of citrus and herbs called gremolada that you add at the end, and two, the fact that it's traditionally served over saffron risotto, if you go Milanese style (you can also just serve it over regular white rice, and it'll still be delicious).

Marcella adds a whole step where she puts the veal in the oven. This recipe has enough steps (although, it's really not too complicated) without adding an oven, so I skipped that.

The risotto takes at least a half an hour, I'd say, so start that a half hour before the veal is done. You have some wiggle room, since the veal is simmering at that point.

Here we go. I kept the sauce at the amount recommended for 6-8 servings, but only used two veal shanks:
OSSOBUCCO
1 cup onion, chopped fine
2/3 cup carrot, sliced thin
2/3 cup celery, sliced thin
2-4 tbsp butter
1 tsp garlic, chopped fine
2 strips lemon peel (avoid the white stuff inside)
Vegetable oil
2 veal shanks (or beef) with the marrow bone, cut no thicker than 1 1/2 inches, ideally
Flour, spread on a plate
1 cup dry white wine
1 cup chicken or beef broth
1 1/2 cups imported Italian plum tomatoes, or San Marzano, with their juice
1/2 tsp thyme
2 bay leaves
2-3 sprigs parsley
Fresh-ground black pepper, to taste
Salt, to taste

In a large dutch oven, add 2-3 capfuls of vegetable oil and the butter, and turn the heat to medium high. Let the butter melt. In the meantime, turn the shanks in flour and coat on both sides. Shake off the excess flour and add the shanks to the pan. Brown the meat on both sides, sprinkle with salt and pepper, turn the shanks, and add the wine. Let the wine boil off a bit, and deglaze the pan, scraping up the brown bits with a wooden spoon. Remove the shanks from the pan, and add the carrots, celery, and onion to the pan, along with the thyme and parsley - you can add more butter and/or vegetable oil if it's try. Let the veggies soften, then add the chopped lemon peel and parsley and stir for about a minute. Add the shanks back to the pan. Finally, add the tomatoes, pressing the tomatoes against the side of the pot to crush them. Bring the sauce to a boil, turn down to low, and let simmer as long as you can stand it - at least an hour. 

GREMOLADA
So, I didn't have any fresh parsley, which is really how you want to do it. So instead, I used dried. It worked, but it wasn't nearly as good - so go with fresh if you can. Really, what's delicious about this is the garlic and the unexpected citrus taste from the lemon. It cuts the heaviness of the rest of the dish.
1 tsp grated lemon peel (again, avoid the white pith)
1/4 tsp garlic chopped very, very fine
1 tsp chopped parsley

Combine all the ingredients, and sprinkle over the veal shanks while they're still cooking, about two minutes before you're ready to serve them.

SAFFRON RISOTTO
Pinch saffron threads 
1.5 tbsp olive oil
1/2 white onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
1 cup arborio rice
1/4 cup dry white wine
3-4 cups chicken stock, reduced sodium, simmering
1/3 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese

Start the broth boiling, then turn the broth down to a simmer. Place the saffron in a small bowl and cover with 1.5 tbsp hot water (this is the part where it turns bright yellow!). Let it sit for about 20 minutes, or until needed.

Combine the oil and onion in a large, deeper sauce pan and stir over medium heat until the onion is soft, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and stir another minute. Add the rice and stir until all the grains are coated, about 2 minutes.

Add the wine and stir into the rice until it's been absorbed. Add a ladleful of the simmering stock and stir that in until it's been absorbed. Continue this process for about 20 minutes, or until the rice is al dente or the stock is used up (do reserve a few tablespoons for later). About halfway through, add the saffron and its liquid along with a ladle of stock. Season lightly with ground black pepper after you add the saffron. 

When the rice is cooked/you're done with the stock, add the parmesan and the remaining couple tablespoons of the stock. Stir it over the heat, then serve with a veal shank and the ossobucco sauce!