Risotto alla milanese with ossobuco

Chef MARCO PASI Ristorante Boeucc (MI)

Ingredients for 4 people:

PREPARATION OF THE RECIPE

Peel and finely chop the onion. Mince the marrow and sauté gently in a pan with high sides with half the butter. Keeping the flame on low, as soon as the marrow has melted add the onion, a pinch of salt and sauté slowly for about ten minutes allowing it to cook well without browning (if necessary add a few drops of water).
Now add the rice, turning up the heat and roasting it for a few minutes, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, until it becomes translucent and lightly browned. Add the warmed wine and continue to stir. As soon as the alcohol has evaporated, add a ladle of boiling broth. Keep the heat on high and continue to stir, gradually adding more stock, a ladle at a time.
When the rice is almost ready, add the saffron diluted in a ladle of hot broth. After approximately 20 minutes of cooking, taste to check the seasoning, add salt if necessary and take the risotto off the heat while still al dente and fluid. Add the rest of the butter in small flakes and the cheese, stirring vigorously. Cover the pan with a cloth and allow the risotto to rest for a couple of minutes before serving.
In the traditional Milanese cuisine, saffron risotto is one of the classic side dishes served with “ossobuco in gremolada”. In this case, a more abundant risotto is prepared, served as a full meal on a Sunday during the winter.

Chop the onion and separately very finely chop together the peeled and washed carrot and celery. Prick the outer skin of the veal shanks in multiple places so that they will not curl when cooking and lightly flour them. Melt the butter in a large heavy-bottomed saucepan together with the oil. When it sizzles, add the veal shanks and brown on high heat until lightly browned. Flip the shanks and brown on the other side.
Remove the shanks from the pan and add the onion, turn down the heat and sauté slowly until it becomes transparent and begins to lose its colour. Add the shanks back to the pan and season with salt and pepper.
After a few minutes, pour the wine on the bottom of the pan. Once the alcohol has evaporated distribute the chopped celery and carrot over the pieces of meat and add the tomato paste, diluted in a cup of hot water and a ladle of broth. Cover and continue to cook for a good hour until the meat becomes tender and almost falls off the bone. During this time, add a ladle of hot broth when the sauce has dried out too much and flip the veal shanks a couple of times.
Meanwhile, very finely chop the parsley, grated garlic and the grated lemon peel (yellow part only). When the veal shanks are ready, almost covered in a dark and translucent sauce, add the chopped aromatic herbs (gremolada) to the pan and allow the flavour to be absorbed for a few minutes. Serve the shanks hot with the risotto or with mashed potatoes and buttered spinach.