Osso Bucco

I took this recipe from 7 Recipes under $15, a selection Joan, Kerry, Mary and Vicki and I are testing. (Just for you! Join us?)

I  fiddled with it a bit, to meet both ease of use and budget constraints for a lovely Sunday night dinner with family.

OSSO BUCCO
Prep time: 20 minutes
Total time: 120 minutes
Serves: 4
Cost: $11 per person-ish (not quite under $15)

4 large 2 ½-inch thick veal shanks, each patted dry and tied securely with kitchen string-I chose 2 shanks and two chops to see how their end result would vary. My family liked the chop (not entirely Osso) a little better, less fat and more meat to savor. I also skipped the stringing process, I've been known to cut a corner or two in the kitchen- you know, busy mom thing.
1 tsp kosher salt
½ tsp black pepper
All-purpose flour for dredging the veal shanks/chops
3 Tbsp unsalted butter
5 Tbsp olive oil
1 ½ cups dry white wine
1 ½ cups finely-chopped onion
¾ cup finely-chopped carrots
¾ cup finely-chopped celery
1 tsp minced garlic
2 Tbsp tomato paste
3-4 cups chicken stock
1 ½ cups drained canned plum tomatoes, chopped
Cheesecloth bag containing 6 fresh parsley sprigs, 4 fresh thyme sprigs, and 1 bay leaf-I passed on the cheese cloth and let these ingredients mingle with the above elements freely. I removed the bay leaf at serving.
4 Tbsp flat parsley, chopped
1 Tbsp lemon zest

Dust shanks with salt and pepper then dredge in flour. Shake off excess flour.

Heat Dutch oven with 1 Tbsp each oil and butter until very hot. Brown shanks, adding butter and oil as needed. Remove browned meat.

Lower heat and add onion, carrots, celery, and garlic. Saute about 10 minutes. Add tomato paste. Add wine and bring to a boil. Let the wine boil for about 5 minutes. Add chicken stock, tomatoes, and cheesecloth bag. When this boils, cover the pan and simmer until meat is falling off the bone, about 1 ½ hours.

Snip kitchen string off shanks and top with parsley and lemon zest.
The suggested side serving is creamy polenta- I chose couscous.

When the final meal was prepared I served the shanks/chops over couscous and ladled with sauce for a delightful dinner mimicing Sunday dinners from days gone by.