Slow & Steady

The rich stew is a specific cut of veal shank, braised in butter and olive oil, and flavoured with garlic and herbs before slowly simmering in a tomato, wine and stock base for upto four hours.

A traditional winter dish, when paired with the saffron-scented Risotto Milanese, it’s as comforting as a bowl of Ben & Jerry’s Cookie Dough ice cream.

Neither as ubiquitous as pasta, nor as rare as Kripa (involves a lot of intestines), Osso Bucco has a small but firm following in Italian restaurants across the country. In Mumbai, Stax, at the Hyatt Regency is one of just two that host the dish. But head chef Deepak Bhatia calls it the most popular item on the Stax menu. So popular that when the restaurant reopens in mid-April as a full-fledged Italian, Osso Bucco will be carried forward to the new menu.

For obvious reasons, Bhatia, like many other chefs, works with mutton shanks rather than the real McCoy. ‘‘I’d rather not restrict the number of customers by making it with veal,’’ he says. Talking of substitutes, at the La Piazza, Hyatt Regency, New Delhi—the only Italian joint in the capital that serves Osso Bucco—chef Mitele Sbardillini makes a buffalo variant, served with a polenta timbale and Gorgonzola sauce. And he’s gone one better: Ostrich shanks. According to Sbardillini, ostrich shanks are a highly popular substitute in Italy. The meat is apparently both high-protein and cheap. Now trying sourcing that from Crawford Market or INA.

For the puritans in the pack, there’s only one stop: Mezzo Mezzo, at the JW Marriott, Mumbai. For Rs 620, the five-star eatery’s month-old chef Sebastiano Mastrangelo makes Osso Bucco just as its agrarian fathers intended: With veal—hallelujah—minus wine and fripperies. ‘‘The original recipe also called for anchovies, but I figure that would be a bit much to expect people to like,’’ he says. Mastrangelo’s version has a base with rosemary, capers and lemon rind (The lemony accent of the sauce tapers the risotto’s heavy cheesiness).

The dish is slow-cooked, so don’t expect express service when you order it. ‘‘Osso Bucco is one of those Sunday lunch dishes, where you have a lot of time to make it and a lot of time to eat it,’’ says Mastrangelo.

A glass of full-bodied Barbera d’Alba on the side, and it’ll be time for the Sunday siesta. Bueno appetito!

Osso Bucco

INGREDIENTS
Lamb shanks, 300 gm
Onion, 50 gm
Chopped garlic , 5 gm
Carrot, 50 gm
Celery, 50 gm
Flour, for dusting
Lamb stock, 300 ml
Red wine, 50 ml
Mixed vegetables, 100 gm
Chopped parsley, 10 gm
Salt/pepper, to taste
Olive oil, 60 ml

METHOD
Wash peel and cut the carrots, onion and celery into brunoise.

Heat the oil in a heavy bottom pan

Dust the shanks with flour and sear the meat till golden brown.

Remove the shanks and sauté the garlic and the brunoise vegetables.

Add the shanks to the vegetables and add the wine. Allow to reduce, and add the lamb stock. Bring to boil, and allow to simmer for few minutes. Cover with a lid, and put the pan into a hot oven. Braise the shanks for 45 minutes to one hour or till the meat starts to separate from the bone. Sauté the vegetables and place them on the centre of the plate. Arrange the Osso Bucco on top of the vegetables.

Serve hot, accompanied with Risotto Milanaise.

Risotto Milanaise

INGREDIENTS
Arborio rice, 75 gm
White wine, 15 ml
Saffron, 1/2 gm
Vegetable stock, 200 ml
Butter, 20 ml
Olive oil, 10 ml
Parmesan cheese, 10 gm

METHOD
Heat the stock and allow to simmer. Take 50 ml of stock and soak the saffron strands. Heat a pan and add half the butter and the oil. Add the rice and saute‚ till the grains separate. Add the wine and allow to evaporate. Add the vegetable stock (a little at a time). Add the seasoning and stir occasionally to avoid sticking. Add the saffron-flavoured stock and allow to cook on medium heat. When the moisture is absorbed and the rice is cooked al dante, fold in the balance butter and parmesan cheese. Serve immediately, with parmesan flakes.

Recipes courtesy Hyatt Regency, Mumbai

With inputs from Anjali Abhyankar/ New Delhi