OSSOBUCCO WITH LEMON... a classic !

One of my all time favorites is the Italian classic of Ossobucco or stewed veal shanks with lemon. Its flavorful and pretty easy to put together, doesnt take a professional to prepare and its not high maintenance.

YOU'LL NEED:
(serves six)

- 6 veal shank of about 8 oz each
- 4 T spoons unsalted butter
- 1 cup all purpose non bleached flour
- 4 T spoons olive oil
- 1/2 cup meat stock
- 1/2 cup dry white wine
- 3 T spoons flat parsley (chopped)
- 2 garlic cloves
- Oregano
- 2 lemons (juice and zest)
- salt and pepper GB (quanto basta.... just enough)

PREPARATION:

- Place your veal shanks on a big platter and just take a good look at them. The should look full, rather thick but be careful with they fellas because they will surely not behave while cooking so you MUST, with a sharp knife make several short cuts along their edges cutting inward toward the center as this will prevent them from curing or rolling inward during the cooking.
- In a good size skillet, pour your olive oil and your smashed and cut garlic clove and heat on medium. Careful not to burn the garlic but only slightly brown it.
- Pour your flour on a deep plate or large bowl.
- OPTIONAL... I will normally let my shanks sit in balsamic vinegar and lemon juice, dry white wine for a minimum of 4 hours prior to the flouring / dusting but its your call.
- Dust or place and pat the shanks in the flour (I add about a T spoon of oregano and salt to the flour prior to dusting the veal in it) and lay in the skillet.
- Let the veal simmer on medium heat and turn them to brown both sides. After about 10-12 minutes of cooking, add the stock,white wine, parsley and reduce heat to low and season with salt and pepper and let simmer for about 45 additional minutes however you will need to maintain a moist text to the veal so you will want to either add additional stock or water.
- When the veal is about 3/4 finished or about 30 minutes into the cook time, add the lemon juice and zest, cover and finish cooking (another 15-20 minutes on simmer or low heat.
- Serve with rice or tagliatelle pasta and perhaps a veggie such as artichokes or stuffed tomotoes or even mushrooms.

ENJOY !!!