Veal Osso Bucco with Cannellini Beans

I love Gary Mehigan's recipes from TV show Masterchef Australia. I've been meaning to try out this recipe for quite some time and finally got the chance to cook it this weekend. Thankfully, this is one of the easier recipes to cook and it's absolutely delicious! Packed full of flavour and perfect to eat on a cold Winter's night.

Recipe adapted from Masterchef 2011, Masterclass 

Ingredients

1.5kg veal osso bucco
½ cup plain flour
50ml olive oil
2 stalks celery, diced
1 medium onion, diced
1 carrot, peeled and diced
¼ bunch parsley stalks, leaves picked and roughly chopped, stalks reserved
4 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
250ml white wine
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 bay leaf
6 sprigs thyme
zest of 1 lemon
400g tin crushed tomato
2 cups veal or beef stock
100g dried cannelini beans, soaked overnight or 100g tinned cannellini beans, drained, rinsed

To finish

Freshly cracked pepper and sea salt
½ bunch parsley leaves, roughly chopped
zest of 1 lemon
1 loaf crusty bread, thickly sliced

Method

1. Preheat oven to 180⁰C.
2. Season meat with salt and pepper and toss in flour to coat, shaking off excess. Heat oil in a frying pan over high heat, add meat and pan fry until caramelized then remove meat from pan and set aside to a plate. Reduce to medium-high heat. Add celery, onion, carrot, reserved parsley stalks and garlic to pan, cook for 8-10 minutes.
3. Add tomato paste and cook for 1-2 minutes then deglaze pan with wine.
4. Add all remaining ingredients including the meat to pan. Cover with a lid and cook in oven for 1½-2 hours.
5. Remove lid, cook for a further 45 minutes or until sauce has thickened.
6. Remove pan from oven, sprinkle with cracked pepper, sea salt, chopped parsley and lemon zest.
7. Serve with crusty bread.

Notes & Tips

If using tinned cannellini beans, add when almost ready to serve

Lamb Shanks in Cranberry Sauce

Recipe adapted from Super Food Ideas Magazine, July 2003 issue, page 49

Ingredients

1 tablespoon olive oil
6 lamb shanks, French trimmed
20g butter
1 small red onion, sliced
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons plain flour
1½ cups beef stock
1 cup red wine
275g jar whole berry cranberry sauce
¼ cup fresh rosemary sprigs
mashed potato, to serve
steamed green beans, to serve

Method

1. Preheat oven to 160°C. Heat oil in a large, heavy-based, fry pan over high heat. Cook shanks for 5 minutes on each side or until brown on all sides. Remove to a large casserole dish and arrange the rosemary sprigs around the lamb shanks.
2. Reduce heat to medium then add butter, onion and garlic to fry pan. Cook for a minute or so then add flour and cook for another minute. Slowly add wine, stock and cranberry sauce then bring to the boil. Pour sauce over lamb. 
3. Cover dish with foil, transfer to oven and bake for 3 hours. Remove foil, reduce oven temperature to 120°C and bake for a further 30 minutes or until shanks are tender. 
4. Remove all the lamb shanks to a plate then pour the sauce from the casserole dish into a pot and heat over high heat for 5 minutes to thicken the sauce.
5. Serve lamb shanks with cranberry sauce, mashed potato and beans.

Notes & Tips

If you have a slow cooker, cook on high for 3.5 hours

Osso Bucco

Serves 4

Ingredients

4 x 350-400g, centre bone cut pieces of veal osso buco
50mL extra virgin olive oil 
2 onions, finely diced 
2 cloves garlic, finely diced
2 anchovy fillets 
1 cup dry white wine
800g tinned crushed tomatoes
1 cup veal or beef stock 
2 large sprigs of fresh thyme
2 large sprigs of fresh sage
1 large sprig of fresh rosemary 
1 fresh bay leaf 
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

For the puree:
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
2 tbsp finely chopped parsley
2 tbsp finely chopped good quality anchovy 


Method

Season the veal with the sea salt and pepper. Heat the olive oil in a large pan and brown the veal osso buco pieces evenly on all sides. The veal should be well coloured but be careful not to burn the meat.

Remove the browned veal shanks from the pan and set them aside in the slow cooker. Add the diced onion, garlic, anchovy and herbs and sauté slowly for about 5 minutes or until translucent.  Turn heat up and then add the white wine to deglaze the pan. Cook until the wine is almost completely reduced before adding the tomatoes and veal stock.

Bring to the boil before adding into the slow cooker- make sure the sauce covers the veal. Check for seasoning and adjust accordingly, if the tomatoes are not as ripe and sweet as they should be a little sugar should be added. Cooking time will vary depending on the thickness of the cut but will take somewhere between 4 to 6 hours on low setting.

The veal should be fork tender, with the meat just beginning to separate from the bone when you remove them from the slow cooker. Do not remove until meat is falling off the bone. 

To make the purée, combine the garlic, anchovy and parsley.

After you have removed the veal from the sauce, stir in the puree.  Serve veal pieces with equal portions of creamy polenta and spoon a little of the veal sauce over the top of the veal pieces to finish.

Soft Creamy Polenta

This traditional Italian staple makes a fantastic warming side dish for meat, chicken, fish or vegetables.

Ingredients

1 litre (4 cups) chicken stock
1 cup coarse polenta (cornmeal)
125ml (1/2 cup) thin cream
1/4 cup finely grated parmesan
40g butter
Salt & finely ground white pepper

Method

1. Bring the chicken stock to the boil in a large heavy-based saucepan over high heat. Use a wire balloon whisk to stir the stock. Gradually add the polenta in a thin steady stream, whisking constantly until all the polenta is incorporated into the liquid (whisking ensures the polenta is dispersed through the liquid as quickly as possible). Don't add the polenta too quickly or it will turn lumpy. 
2. Reduce heat to low (cook the polenta over low heat otherwise it will cook too quickly and you will need to add extra water/stock). Simmer, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, for 10 minutes or until the mixture thickens and the polenta is soft. (To test whether the polenta is soft, spoon a little of the polenta mixture onto a small plate and set aside to cool slightly. Rub a little of the polenta mixture between 2 fingers to see if the grains have softened. If the grains are still firm, continue to cook, stirring constantly, over low heat until the polenta is soft.)  
3. Remove from heat. Add the cream, Parmesan and butter, and stir until well combined. Taste and season with salt and pepper. Serve immediately.

Notes & Tips

The hot polenta may splatter as it cooks, so use a long-handled wooden spoon to avoid being scalded.

Lamb Shanks with Thyme and Rosemary

I love eating lamb shanks with the meat falling off the bone and this slow cooker recipe will do just exactly that! This is a great Winter recipe that I keep going back to. It's so easy to make since all I have to do is just pop all the ingredients into the slow cooker, set it on low heat and 4-6 hours later, a nice hearty meal awaits- minimal time, minimal fuss, maximum flavour!

Recipe adapted from taste.com.au- July 2008, page 4

Ingredients

4 lamb shanks, French trimmed
plain flour, for dusting
salt and cracked black pepper
1 large carrot, coarsely chopped
1 Spanish onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, crushed
400g can crushed tomatoes (with roasted capsicum)
3 cups (750ml) beef stock
3 sprigs rosemary
3 sprigs thyme
75g baby spinach leaves
100g mushrooms, sliced
Roast potatoes, to serve, if desired

Method

1. Add the carrot, onion, garlic, tomatoes, beef stock, rosemary and thyme into a slow cooker. 
2. Dust the lamb shanks in the flour, salt and pepper, and shake off excess. 
3. Heat a little olive oil in a large fry pan over medium-high heat. Cook the lamb shanks, in batches, for 3-4 minutes or until browned. 
4. Add lamb shanks into the slow cooker, cover with the lid and cook for 4-6 hours on low setting.
5. When almost ready to serve, stir through the mushrooms and baby spinach leaves. Cook for a few more minutes or until leaves are wilted. Serve with roast potatoes if desired.

Notes & Tips

The size of shanks can vary, so ensure all the shanks will fit in the pot before commencing.

Vegetable Soup

I've been out of action in the kitchen for a few days since I've been struck down with the flu. I felt a bit better today so I thought I'd make myself a simple yet nutritious meal to help kick start the immune system, so what better to make than vegetable soup? Packed full of nutrients, vitamins and anti-oxidants, this recipe is also super easy to make if you have a slow cooker. Just set and forget... a couple of hours later... a nice meal awaits :)
 
I added some chopped bacon to this soup since I had some left over in the fridge, but for a meat free version, just omit it from this recipe. I also added some chilli flakes for a bit of kick.

You can pretty much add to this soup any kind of vegetable, whatever is in season or whatever happens to be in your fridge.

This recipe is also freezer friendly. A handy tip I learnt was to put the soup into individual microwavable soup containers. That way you can very easily take it out of the freezer and put straight into the microwave. Yummy soup in a matter of minutes!

Ingredients

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 brown onion, finely chopped
125g bacon, chopped (optional)
2 garlic cloves, crushed
2 carrots, peeled, chopped
2 celery sticks, chopped
2 small zucchini, chopped
4 cups vegetable or chicken stock
2-3 cups water
400g can diced roma tomatoes
1 tub tomato paste
¼ tsp chilli flakes (optional) 
⅓ cup dried risoni pasta (optional)
⅓ cup flat-leaf parsley leaves, roughly chopped

Method

1. Heat oil in a saucepan over medium-high heat. Add onion, bacon and garlic. Cook, stirring, for 5 minutes or until soft. 
2. Add all ingredients except the risoni and parsley into a slow cooker and stir to combine.
3. Cover and cook on high for 2- 3 hours or on low for 4 to 6 hours.
4. Stir in risoni pasta during the last hour of cooking. Alternatively, if making ahead, cook the risoni pasta separately and stir into the soup just before serving.
   
5. Stir through parsley. Ladle soup into bowls. Serve with warm crusty bread.
   

Notes & Tips

To freeze: Store soup in an airtight container. Label, date and freeze for up to 3 months.