Traditionally, Osso Buco is a Milanese dish and not made with tomatoes, contrary to popular belief. Tomatoes are not used in the cooking of northern Italy. The absence of the tomato flavour in Osso Buco allows the more delicate flavour of the gremolata to feature in this classic dish. I just love tomatoes in anything, and more so in slow cooked dishes so I had to use them in my version of Osso Buco plus I can’t resist gremolata on just about anything.

[photo source]

Gremolata is a combination of chopped parsley, grated lemon rind and garlic, used to just sprinkle on top of or mix through the dish once cooked. It’s perfect to be used for a topping on just about any savoury dish.

Osso buco translates to “bone with a hole”. It’s actually the veal shank cut into slices. You could do this recipe with lamb shanks as well. You’ll find most recipes the same but I used this one from one of my Italian cookbooks, “The Food of Italy”. I served it with penne pasta and it was delicious. It was a cold-ish day and a very cool night. Just what I needed.

Osso Buco with Tomatoes & Gremolata

2 pieces veal osso buco
plain flour for dusting meat (seasoned with salt & pepper)
2 tbs olive oil
60g butter
1 garlic clove
1 small carrot, finely chopped
1 large onion, finely chopped
1//2 celery stalk, fine chopped
250ml cup dry white wine
375ml (1.1/2 cups) veal or chicken stock
400gm tin diced Italian tomatoes
bouquet garni (fresh herbs tied with string – I used flat leafed parsley and thyme – you could also use dried herbs)
2 bay leaves
salt & pepper

(This dish is perfect for the slow cooker or it can be prepared in an ovenproof casserole dish, suitable for the stove top and then cooked in the oven.)

Dust meat with seasoned flour and fry until sealed, in olive oil and butter. Remove from pan and add to slow cooker. Add onions, garlic, carrot and celery on low heat without browning. Add wine and increase heat to high and cook for 2-3 minutes. Add stock, tomatoes and bouquet garni. Season with salt and pepper. Return veal to pan (if using an ovenproof dish) or add vegetable/sauce mixture to slow cooker.

Cook on high for 4 hours or 8 hours on low if using the slow cooker. If cooking in the oven, cook for approx 1.1/2 hours or until meat is tender and sauce is thick.

Gremolata:
1 tsp grated lemon rind
1 tbs flat parsley leaves, finely chopped
1 garlic clove, finely chopped

Mix all ingredients together. After removing veal from the pan, add gremolata to sauce, saving some to sprinkle on top to serve.

Oh, and after researching quite a few different recipes on the Internet, I discovered that the correct spelling is ‘buco’ with one ‘c’, not two as I originally thought.

 

 

 

Easy One Pot Savoury Rice

I’m always trying to think of different side dishes to serve with the main meals but I’m usually limited to what I have on hand. I don’t want to go out and buy something in particular that will compliment the meal but rather use what might be nearing it’s use by date. In this case I had a glut of tomatoes that the skin was starting to shrivel on so I came up with this easy One Pot Savoury Rice. It’s going to be a standard on our menu because it was delicious and easy and I’ve nearly always got the ingredients on hand.

I never used to like tomatoes as a child but I love them now and usually go through at least a kilo a week, even if it’s using them on bread or in a salad, winter or summer. When the skin starts to shrivel, they are always bound for a pot of pasta sauce or similar.

Start by chopping the tomatoes roughly. Doesn’t matter what they look like. They will be cooked down anyway.

Fry a chopped onion in a little olive oil.

Add the chopped tomatoes and simmer gently until they become part of the sauce. Add 1 cup of chicken (or whatever) stock, garlic, salt and pepper.

This is where the easy part comes in. Whenever I cook rice for a meal, I usually triple or quadruple the amount I cook. It allows me to have ready made, cooked rice on hand. I pop a 4 person serving of cooked rice in a ziplock bag and freeze. It just cuts out so much time when preparing a meal. It’s great for stir fries on a busy week night. I just need to chop all the meat and vegetables and pop the rice in a bowl and cover with hot water from the kettle. It will defrost within minutes and if needed, you can heat for an extra minute in the microwave. I don’t usually bother because the heat from the stir fry will usually heat up the rice enough.

This is so, so lazy, but it works. I just popped the frozen ‘slab’ of rice straight into the pot. Within minutes it was defrosted and it really only needs heating up because the rice is cooked. 

What you do want to happen is for the liquid from the tomato and onion mixture to be soaked into the rice, which does happen in a few more minutes. While this is happening, you can prepare a quick salad and grill your meat.

I certainly won’t win any awards for traditional cooking methods but this comes out very similar to risotto in texture, it’s fresh tasting and compliments any meal.

On this particular night, I had marinated chicken breasts which were flash fried and served with dressed lettuce leaves. I swear it took all of 15 minutes to cook the whole meal. So, so easy. I’m all about cooking easy lately and always trying to prep a lot of the ingredients to avoid takeaway but also to still not waste any ingredients in my pantry or fridge while still serving tasty meals. I’ve been run off my feet with my new job, I’m exhausted at the end of the day but sitting down to meals like this are always satisfying. Hope you give it a try. You could flavour it with any other spices to compliment the meal you’re having for example Mexican spices with burritos or enchiladas.

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Easy One Pot Savoury Rice

A very easy, one pot savoury rice, similar to risotto, that is made from tomatoes that are starting to turn and precooked rice.

Prep Time 5 minutes

Cook Time 15 minutes

Total Time 20 minutes

Servings 4

Author Anne

Ingredients

• 3-4 to matoes chopped
• 1-2 cups cooked rice
• 1 medium onion chopped
• extra virgin olive oil
• 1 cup stock I used chicken
• 1 tsp crushed garlic
• salt & pepper

Instructions

1. Chop tomatoes and onion.
2. Fry onion in a little olive oil.
3. Add chopped tomatoes.
4. Simmer gently until tomatoes have dissolved.
5. Add stock, garlic and salt and pepper.
6. Add cooked rice (mine was frozen and I popped it in still frozen).
7. Cook until liquid has been absorbed by the rice (approx 10 minutes).
8. Serve with grilled meat and salad.

Recipe Notes

Add different seasonings, herbs and spices to compliment the meal, eg add cumin, dried coriander and chilli powder for a Mexican version.

Casarecce with Basil Pesto, Salami, Tomatoes & Silverbeet

I don’t know why I get sucked in to buying my fruit and vegetables from the supermarket. Out of convenience I guess. I’ve returned to my local fresh produce market to buying them from now on and there is definitely a difference in flavour, quality AND price.

I bought what seemed like a ‘freshly picked that morning’ bunch of silverbeet, Roma grape tomatoes plus various other vegetables for the week. I decided to team them with the lovely range of pasta and pesto from Barilla. 

I chose the casarecce pasta for this dish because it is a large pasta shape and would be well covered in the basil pesto plus be a nice sized bite with the large chunks of fresh tomato, salami and silverbeet.  Casarecce originates from Sicily, but is also typical of other regions in the centre-south of Italy. This tasty shape, whose name means ‘homemade’, is an interpretation of the Arabic “pasta busiata” obtained with the “bus”, the thin reed of a plant that in the past was used to wrap up the pieces of dough.

The Barilla Pesto Alla Genovese is made in the traditional method from the freshest basil leaves in Liguria and are combined with the delicious taste of Pecorino Romano and Grana Padano cheese. Prepared without preservatives, this is the most natural pesto, with the unmistakeable fragrance of summer. I’ve used this on top of bruschetta (and straight out of the jar). It’s just beautiful.

Basically any fresh vegetables could be used in this dish or any of the other pastas from the Barilla range. It’s great experimenting with flavours and textures and using whatever you have on hand. 

Disclaimer: I was given a range of Barilla pasta and sauces. All photos and opinions are my own.