Osso Bucco is said to be a Milanese dish, and is often served with risotto. The name means “bone with a hole” or “hollowed bone”. This refers to the veal shank bone with a large and tasty marrow filling. This slow cooked meat dish is a nice change of pace on the stews that we make today. I remember the first time I had this dish in a Spanish restaurant in Dallas called 'Rouge'... I thought I had just died and gone to bucco heaven...
Chef Joseph (originally from Basque) before opening for dinner would cook his 'marrow' stew by slow cooking the veal, or as we called it 'Oxtail' in clay pots all afternoon. Knowing this would arrive tender and falling off the bone and perfect every time; it seemed to be what I always wanted to order if we ate there. He also served the most wonderful complimentary glass of sangria when you arrived, and his hospitality was beyond measure. The restaurant would move tables aside and convert the center floor into a dance club towards the end of the evening. Hubby and I have many great memories taking friends and out of town company there...
Talking with him on our last visit, I asked if he would let me in his kitchen to learn a few of his Basque cooking tricks. Until I started preparing my 'mise' for this dish I had almost forgotten all that Joseph had taught me. He had shared with me that adding lemon to the dish while cooking gave it an extra kick of flavor. I will have to re-create more recipes from his fabulous cooking lessons back in Dallas. Many years have gone by since I made this dish, and I am looking forward to tasting it...
Chefs, cooks, and even restaurants garnish the finale platting with a gremolata (or Gremolada), consisting of a mixture of Italian parsley, garlic and grated lemon peel, but it occurred to me goat cheese could be added as an extra layer of creaminess to the risotto. My final decision was to serve it with an Italian Lemon granita and grappa shooter to emulate the garnish and serve it with a lemon goat cheese risotto (GF- brown rice, stock, cream, goat cheese, lemon zest).
The out come... with the sourness of the lemon, smoothness of the cheese and the bite from the zesty tomatoes and vegetable...just seems of Un menage a trois in your mouth!
We 'marrowly' escape eating more than our share, but do stick to portion control tonight...
We travel to Ethiopia again, and the chef tries out a few fusion dishes tomorrow on company...