Osso Buco Of Lamb Shanks With Zucchini And Avgolemono Recipes

LAMB OSSOBUCO

Steps:

• Heat the oil in a large braiser set over medium-high heat. Dry the lamb very well and sprinkle with 1 1/4 teaspoons of the salt. Dredge each piece in the flour and then shake off the excess. Add the lamb to the pan and sear on all sides until deep golden brown, 8 to 10 minutes. Remove the lamb to a plate. Add the garlic, celery, carrots and onions to the pan and season with the remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt. Cook until the vegetables begin to brown and the mixture is fragrant, about 3 minutes. Add the tomato paste and cook, stirring often, to caramelize the paste, about 2 minutes. Deglaze with the wine and bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to medium and simmer for 3 minutes. Stir in the broth, thyme, bay leaf and rosemary. Nestle the lamb back in the pan and cover with the lid. Reduce the heat to low and cook until the lamb is soft and tender, 2 hours.
• Remove the meat to a plate and keep warm. Skim the fat from the surface of the sauce and remove the herb sprigs and bay leaf. Return the meat to the sauce and serve sprinkled with the parsley and lemon zest.

TRADITIONAL OSSO BUCO

Steps:

• Dust the veal shanks lightly with flour. Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium to medium-high heat. Add the veal, and cook until browned on the outside. Remove to a bowl, and keep warm. Add two cloves of crushed garlic and onion to the skillet; cook and stir until onion is tender. Return the veal to the pan and mix in the carrot and wine. Simmer for 10 minutes.
• Pour in the tomatoes and beef stock, and season with salt and pepper. Cover, and simmer over low heat for 1 1/2 hours, basting the veal every 15 minutes or so. The meat should be tender, but not falling off the bone.
• In a small bowl, mix together the parsley, 1 clove of garlic and lemon zest. Sprinkle the gremolata over the veal just before serving.

LAMB OSSO BUCO SLOW-COOKED

Steps:

• Put flour into a shallow wide bowl. Season lamb shanks all over with salt and pepper; dredge through the flour until coated, shaking off any excess flour.
• Heat a large skillet over medium heat; add butter and heat until foaming. Cook lamb shanks in the hot butter until golden, about 5 minutes per side. Transfer lamb shanks to a slow cooker.
• Pour wine into the skillet and bring to a boil while scraping the browned bits of food off of the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon; transfer to the slow cooker. Add tomatoes with their juice, onion, chicken broth, celery, and thyme leaves to slow cooker.
• Cook on Low until lamb is very tender and almost falling off the bone, 6 to 8 hours. Transfer lamb shanks to a platter and cover with aluminum foil.
• Transfer the sauce in the slow cooker to a large skillet; simmer over high heat until sauce is reduced to about 2 cups, 10 to 15 minutes. Season sauce with salt and pepper.

LAMB BRASATO OSSOBUCO

Steps:

• In a large stainless steel bowl, coat lamb shanks with some oil, salt and pepper. Bring the remaining blended oil to 385 degrees F in a rondo or Dutch oven. Preheat the oven to 275 degrees F.
• Sear both sides of the lamb shanks until dark golden brown. Add carrots, celery and onions and cook until caramelized. Add garlic and cook for 10 more minutes. Deglaze the pan with red wine, adding it and stirring with a wooden spoon to scrape the bottom of the rondo. Cook, letting the alcohol evaporate, about 8 minutes. Add the crushed tomatoes, veal demi and chicken stock. Salt and pepper to taste.
• Place lamb shanks in a roasting pan, then add vegetable mix over top. Add bay leaves. Cover with a layer of parchment paper and then a layer of aluminum foil. Bake for 2 1/2 hours. Let it rest, covered, for 30 minutes, then strain the sauce with a fine chinois.
• Place 1 ladle of the Risotto in the center of a plate. With the back of the ladle, press down to create space for plating lamb shank vertically. Plate lamb shank. Ladle the braised lamb sauce around the Risotto. Finish with a drizzle of 1 tablespoon Gremolata over top of lamb. Repeat to make 3 more plates.
• Start by making saffron stock, combining chicken stock with 1 sachet saffron in a pot. Bring to a simmer, then turn off the heat and set aside for later.
• On medium-high heat, using a copper risotto pan, add half of the butter and the rice. The goal here is to toast outer shell of rice, but not brown it. This technique allows rice to have a more al dente texture when the cooking process is complete. Using a wooden spoon, stir the rice around the pot, keeping it moving at all times. Add onion and cook until they turn translucent and fragrant. Your rice should be seared but not browned. Deglaze with white wine and cook off alcohol. Add saffron stock 1 cup at a time. Cook, constantly stirring the risotto with a wooden spoon and scraping the bottom of the pot so nothing sticks to it. (The idea behind constant stirring is so all the rice cooks evenly; otherwise the rice at the bottom of the pan is at a hotter temperature and higher humidity, thus, it will cook faster than the rice on the surface of the pot. Add stock as needed. You want your risotto to be al dente, so make sure that when it comes to al dente you have as little liquid in the mix as possible.) The consistency you are looking for is that the risotto will barely run off the end of the wooden spoon. When the saffron stock is absorbed, finish with the Italian technique called "manteca" ...meaning to finish with remaining butter and Parmesan.
• Heat up a saucepan on low heat and add oil. Stir in garlic and simmer for 1 minute. Remove from heat and stir in parsley, lemon and orange zests. Season with salt and pepper.

OSSO BUCO OF LAMB SHANKS WITH ZUCCHINI AND AVGOLEMONO

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 275°F.
• In a heavy casserole large enough to hold lamb shanks in one layer without crowding arrange shanks and season with salt and pepper. Roast shanks in middle of oven, covered tightly, 3 hours, or until tender. (Meat will give off juices as it cooks.) Pour off pan juices, reserving about 1 cup, and skim fat. Keep shanks warm, covered.
• In a small saucepan combine broth, reserved pan juices, water, and one-third zucchini and simmer 5 minutes, or until zucchini is tender but still bright green. In a blender purée broth mixture until smooth.
• In a bowl whisk together egg and lemon juice and whisk in puréed; broth mixture. Return mixture to pan and heat over moderate heat, stirring constantly, until 170°F. on a candy thermometer and thickened slightly (do not boil). Season avgolemono with salt and pepper and keep warm.
• In a large non-stick skillet heat oil over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking and sauté remaining zucchini until crisp-tender, about 5 minutes. Stir in dill and salt and pepper to taste.
• Arrange shanks on a deep platter and scatter with zucchini. Drizzle shanks with some avgolemono and serve remaining sauce separately. Serve shanks with orzo>/I>.

OSSO BUCO

Steps:

• Heat one ounce of the butter in a large Texas skillet or Dutch oven.
• Add peeled & finely chopped carrot, onion, celery and one of the crushed garlic cloves. Cook gently until onions are golden brown. Remove from heat & transfer to a large ovenproof casserole.
• Coat shanks in flour seasoned with salt & pepper. Heat remaining butter & oil in large frying pan. Add shanks and brown on all sides.
• Carefully pack shanks on top of vegetables in casserole; stand shanks upright to retain marrow in the bones.
• If pan is oily drain excess oil off. Add tomatoes and chop into pan with wooden spoon until the tomatoes are all popped. You could also start with chopped tomatoes or you can puree them. I just find the flavor better with the whole tomatoes and enjoy the tomato chunks with the rest of the veggies and the meat. Deglaze the pan by scraping the goodies up off the bottom of the pan into the tomato juices with a wooden spoon. Add wine, beef broth, basil, thyme, oregano, bay leaf & strip of lemon rind. Taste. Add salt & pepper to taste if necessary.
• Pour sauce over veal shanks & veg in casserole. Bake in moderate (350°F) oven for 2 hours, or until meat is falling away from bones. (Stir occasionally during cooking.)
• Serve over rice, pasta, potatoes or polenta.
• Quickly blend the chopped parsley, grated lemon rind & other crushed garlic clove and serve separately as a fresh, crisp garnish.