GUEST: ROSIE MACKEAN
one of my favourite people in the industry presents a milanese classic...
Hey folks!
Happy Friday, and welcome back to another edition of How I Cook!
I am so thrilled to have the inimitable Rosie Mackean writing for us today, and oh boy, what a recipe we have. A veal ossobuco from her beautiful book, Good Time Cooking, a dinner party bible written with the goal of making hosting easier. I love Rosie’s work and she really can do it all. She’s a chef, food writer, food stylist and has worked all over the industry… Restaurants, shooting and writing books, producing TV, what can’t she do! She also writes an ace substack which you ought to subscribe to.
Anyway, enough from me, and over to Rosie!
Cheers,
B x
OSSOBUCO - HERE’S THE TEA
Traditionally Ossobuco “alla Milanese”, originating from the region of Lombardia in Italy, is a softly braised veal shank, ie. shin. It is “cross-cut” so that the bone sits in the centre of the meat, holding all the muscles together and providing a perfect portion. Braised in wine and stock, sometimes with tomatoes, sometimes without, the meat is tender and sweet with a rich, meaty sauce. The bone is filled with luscious marrow, which the eater can scoop out to devour with their dinner - ossobuco literally translated means “bonehole” hehehe. In Milan it is most typically served atop a bright saffron risotto which is the “alla Milanese” bit, although it is also seen on polenta.
Veal is understandably divisive, there has been and still exists animal abuse in the European veal industry. However these days you are able to find ethically raised veal here in the UK - look for BRITISH ORGANIC ROSÉ VEAL. Note that a lot of British veal is a bi-product of the dairy industry.
If you are not comfortable with veal then beef shin is a good swap, and I have offered the timings for those below. You can also ask your butcher for lamb shanks or pork to be cut like osso buco instead, although the servings will be smaller so you may need more pieces.
From my point of view, if you happily eat literally *any* meat from supermarkets, then arguing that British veal isn’t ethical enough for you is giving people in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones.
A NOTE ON COOKING FOR A CROWD
You might think I am mad for suggesting you cook a risotto for a dinner party as they are famously something you can’t walk away from once you have started. However, having learned the “risotto base” method from my time in restaurants I actually think they are a really great thing to wheel out when hosting. You can essentially “par-cook” the risotto, chill it down and then finish it off when you are ready to serve. The ossobuco too can be prepped way in advance, so this all becomes a bit of an exercise in clever and relaxed reheating.
RULES FOR A GOOD RISOTTO
BUY GOOD RICE.
I prefer Carnaroli to Arborio risotto rice every time - it has slightly longer grains and is less likely to overcook and disintegrate. Aged rice is also better if you can get hold of it. Avoid supermarket own brand - buy Italian!
TOAST THEM GRAINS.
Toasting the risotto rice is an essential part of the process. Some chefs do this in a dry pan, some more lazy people (me) toast the rice in the shallots and fat. Firstly it removes any moisture that has collected on the rice while it has been in its packaging, and in turn kind of “waxes” the rice grains. This gives them a little protective shell and prevents them from releasing their starch too quickly in the cooking process and disintegrating when mixed with liquid.
FLAT ON THE PLATE.
A good risotto should look like the rice is coated in a starchy, silky sauce and should sink into a flat layer onto a plate. It needs to be *hydrated* - if your risotto is looking too dry or tight, add more stock or water - it will be fine.
DON’T BE AFRAID OF FAT
Plenty of butter at the end is part of the “mantecatura” - where the starchy liquid created in the cooking of the risotto is emulsified with fat to make the sauce referenced above. You’ve all cooked enough of Ben’s food by now to know that fat is your friend!
GREMOLATA - WHAT THE HELL IS IT?
Gremolata is a very typical topping for Ossobuco alla Milanese, but I actually use it in lots of recipes. Simply put it is a seasoning made from very finely chopped lemon zest, raw garlic and parsley. Some recipes will have you add oil to it, but for me it is importantly something that can be sprinkled and stays dry. The freshness of the zest, heat of the garlic and bright grassy parsley really transform what can feel like a very fatty, rich dish. A very sharp knife is key. I find myself adding gremolata to lots of pastas, braises or anything that has lots of butter in it.
THE “BIG BIRTHDAY ONE” in GOOD TIME COOKING
Wild Garlic Doughballs
Fried Asparagus w/anchovy mayo
Ossobuco, Risotto alla Milanese
Rhubarb Jelly & Ice cream
INGREDIENTS
For the ossobuco
6 veal shin pieces, cross-cut with the bone in the middle (you can use beef shin if you prefer, but do note that it will take longer to cook)
50g (generous 1/3 cup) plain (all-purpose) flour, seasoned well with salt and pepper
2 tbsp olive oil, plus extra if needed
3 tbsp butter
1 carrot, diced
1 onion, diced
2 sticks of celery, diced
200ml (generous 3/4 cup) white wine
1 litre (1 quart) hot beef stock (broth)
4 bay leaves
salt and black pepper
For the risotto base
2 litres (2 quarts + 1/2 cup) hot chicken stock (broth)
0.5g (1/2 tsp) saffron
2 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp butter
2 banana shallots, very finely chopped
2 tsp salt
3 garlic cloves, very finely chopped
500g (1lb 2oz) risotto rice
170ml (3/4 cup) white wine
For the gremolata
15g (1/2oz) fresh parsley leaves
1 garlic clove, peeled
zest of 1 lemon
To finish the risotto
100g (1/2 cup minus 1 tbsp) cold unsalted butter, diced
100g (31/2oz) grated Parmesan cheese
METHOD
The veal shin pieces have a layer of membrane around them – you don’t need to remove it but it’s worth making 3–4 deep slits in it, all the way to the flesh, or the membrane will shrink as it cooks and contort the flesh. Dust the shins in the seasoned flour on both sides; set aside. Preheat the oven to 150°C fan (170°C/340°F/Gas 3). Melt the oil and butter together in a large pan over a medium heat, until the butter is sizzling. Add the veal shins in batches,
making sure they get a lovely golden brown colour on both sides. Set the browned meat aside and add the carrot, onion and celery to the pan, along with a little more oil if needed. Brown the veg for around 10–12 minutes, scraping up any golden bits of caramelization on the bottom of the pan with your spoon. Deglaze the pan with the white wine and continue to scrape the golden bits off the bottom of the pan so that they flavour the liquid.
Normally ossobuco is cooked on the stove, but as we are cooking 6 veal shins at a time here I find it much easier to use the oven. Lay the browned shins in the bottom of two deep roasting trays, then pour over the vegetables in their wine followed by the hot beef stock and bay leaves; the stock may not quite cover the meat but that’s okay. Cover the trays tightly with foil and then pop them into the preheated oven. Veal shins need around 2 hours, beef shins will need 3–4. You want the meat to be tender but with enough structure that it is still attached to the bones. (If you want, you can scoop out the marrow from the bones and use it in the risotto, I prefer to leave it in for the guests to use later.) When they are cooked, carefully remove the shins from their broth, cover with foil and set aside. Pour all the cooking liquid into a pan. Pop it over a high heat and bubble for 8–10 minutes until reduced by a third, then pour it back over the veal. If you are making this the day before, let the dish cool completely before chilling in the fridge. If not, cover, leave to cool and then reheat when you're ready.
Next, make the saffron stock for the risotto base. Have the hot chicken stock ready in a large pan. Grind the saffron to a powder using a pestle and mortar, then add a spoonful of hot stock and let it sit for 1 minute. Pour the saffron liquid into the stock pan and bring to a simmer, then remove from the heat but keep warm. For the risotto base, heat the oil and butter in a large, heavy-based pan over a medium heat. When the butter sizzles, add the shallots and salt and let them sweat for 8 minutes until soft. Add the garlic and cook for 1–2 minutes, then add the rice and mix well. Toast the rice, coating it in the fat and moving it all the time to prevent burning, for 4 minutes until it smells intensely ricey. Add the wine
and stir well. Keep stirring until the wine has been absorbed and the mix has dried out. Add 2 ladles of hot stock, stir well and set a timer for 14 minutes. You don’t have to stir constantly, but keep things moving and each time the stock has been absorbed, add more stock. After 14 minutes, take the pan off the heat, then pour the mixture onto a large tray and spread it out – this helps it cool down quicker. Let it cool to body temperature before covering with cling film (plastic wrap) and chilling in the fridge. Set aside the remaining stock for later. For the gremolata, finely chop all the ingredients with a very sharp knife (a blunt knife will bruise them and make them too moist). If this is something you don’t have time for, don’t worry, just briefly blitz the ingredients in a food processor instead.
When your guests arrive, preheat the oven to 150°C fan (170°C/340°F/Gas 3). 30 minutes before you want to eat your main, pop the ossobuco back in a couple of trays with its sauce, cover with foil and put in the oven again to reheat for 20–30 minutes. When you have eaten your starter, reheat the stock and tip the risotto base into a large pan, breaking up any really solid bits with a spoon. Add a ladle of stock and bring it back up to boiling. Be attentive, the risotto will be thirsty, absorb lots of stock and potentially catch, so add more stock regularly. Continue to add stock (and then water if you run out) until the rice is just tender but still with a little bite; around 10 minutes. Remove from the heat and add the cold butter and Parmesan, mixing hard to ‘mantecare’ (make it creamy). If the risotto is stiff, add more stock or water – you should be able to shake the pan and see a little wave of risotto form at the edges with the motion – it wants to be saucy. Check the seasoning, adding salt if needed, and then plate the risotto. It should collapse onto the plate and spread out as you spoon it on – I like to slap the bottom of the plate to help it along. Top with the ossobuco and sprinkle over the gremolata to finish.
MAKE AHEAD
You can make the ossobuco up to 3 days in advance and keep in the fridge until needed.
The risotto base will be fine in the fridge for 2 days.
You can also make and freeze both the ossobuco and risotto base up to 3 months in advance. Defrost in the fridge for 24 hours before reheating/ finishing per the recipe method.
SUBSTITUTIONS
If you want you can make this with lamb shanks, but I really love it just the way it is.
SCALING
To make more than 6 portions of ossobuco, use 1 veal shin piece per person and increase the recipe by one- third for every 2 people.
For the risotto, you can allow for about 80g (3oz) of rice per person. You will need roughly 4 times as much stock as rice.
Wed Aperitivo by Rosie Mackean & Tom Benn
I got married in Bologna this summer and it was absolutely spectacular. I am very exclusively sharing the playlist we made for our drinks reception, which is great music to cook to in my opinion. It’s very vibey, eclectic and celebratory which I think is essential when cooking. I know when I am grumpy I can taste it in my food, so taking preventative measures by having mood-enhancing music is essential, especially when it reminds you of the best day of your life..
Highlights: all of it.
Martha on Netflix
She’s an icon and this documentary is a moment in culture. The definition of “women in male fields”. Listen - I am not saying I would have liked to work for her, and the show doesn’t shy away from the fact that she is difficult. But her story is fascinating and very cool, and I have a huge amount of respect for her. A must watch.
A round of applause for Rosie Mackean.
A great pal, a great cook and a good read!
See you next week for a whopper of a gift guide with heaps of exclusive discounts…
B x