Kane's Kitchen - 7th June 2011 - Osso Bucco with Creamy Polenta and Braised Cabbage

Osso Bucco translates to “bone with a hole” in Italian – and that’s exactly the cut of meat we use – the veal shank. The bone marrow from the shank gives the dish a rich and hearty flavour.  And with the zing of the gremolata on top – this dish is a winner!

This dish is cheap, easy to prepare and basically cooks itself – all you need to do is chop and stir. 

If you have a slow cooker, you can throw all the ingredients together and cook for 8 hours on the “Auto” setting (starts on high then switches to low after a few hours).  Me recipe is for stovetop cooking. 

Enjoy!

  

Osso Bucco with Creamy Polenta and Braised Cabbage

Serves:  6    

Prep Time:  30 mins

Cook Time:  at least 2 hours

What You’ll Need:

• 8 osso bucco pieces
• ¼ cup plain flower
• 2 teaspoons powdered chicken stock
• ¼ cup olive oil
• 2 large carrots, roughly chopped
• 3 sticks celery, chopped
• 2 brown onions, chopped
• 4 cloves garlic, chopped
• 800g tin chopped tomatoes
• 2 tblsp tomato paste
• 1 cup white wine
• 1 cup beef stock
• 4 sprigs fresh thyme, chopped
• 3 sprigs fresh rosemary, chopped
• 4 bay leaves
• Salt and pepper to season
• Cornflour to thicken if necessary

Gremolata

• Zest of 1 lemon, finely chopped
• ¼ cup chopped parsley
• 1 clove garlic, chopped (traditional, but optional if you don’t want to eat raw garlic!)

Creamy Polenta

• 1 cup polenta
• 3 cups chicken stock
• 40g butter
• ¼ cup parmesan cheese
• ¼ cup cream

Braised Cabbage

• ½ cabbage, chopped
• 1 tbsp butter
• ¼ cup chicken stock
• Salt and pepper to season

What You’ll Need To Do:

1.            Combine the flour and the chicken stock powder and coat the osso bucco pieces.  Put some olive oil in a fry pan and brown the osso bucco.  Set aside. 

2.            In a large saucepan, sauté the onions, garlic, carrots and celery in some oil for 2 mins.  Add tinned tomatoes, tomato paste, white wine, beef stock, fresh thyme and rosemary and the bay leaves.  Bring to the boil. 

3.            Add osso bucco pieces.  They should be covered by the vegetable mixture.  Season with salt and pepper, turn heat to low and simmer, covered, for at least two hours, stirring occasionally. 

4.            To make the braised cabbage, combine butter and chicken stock in a saucepan.  Add cabbage and cook, covered, for 20-30 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Add more liquid to the saucepan if it gets dry.  Season with salt and pepper.

5.            Cook polenta as per packet instructions, but as a guide, put 1 cup of polenta to 3 cups of stock in a saucepan.  Stir constantly over a medium heat for about 20 minutes, or until polenta is cooked.  Once cooked, stir through butter, parmesan cheese and cream.  Season with salt and pepper. 

6.            Combine the chopped lemon zest with the parsley and chopped garlic. 

7.            Check osso bucco for seasoning and add salt if required.  If the mixture is a little runny, combine 3 tsp cornflour with some water in a cup.  Slowly add the dissolved mixture to the osso bucco until desired consistency is achieved.

8.    To serve, spoon polenta into a deep bowl and top with osso bucco.  Put some braised cabbage on the side and top entire dish with a good helping of the gremolata.