Osso Bucco is one of my favourite slow cooked dishes. Its seriously so comforting! A traditional osso bucco definitely does not have prunes and fennel in it, but I think they are such a great addition to the dish! The fennel provides a sweet aniseed flavour, and the prunes…well, they bring a depth of caramelised rich sweetness to the meat. Bone stock is pretty much essential to this dish…it really completes it (HOWEVER, of course you can skip it if you can’t find it…you can use water instead, but it won’t be the same!). I would also recommend to scoop out the bone marrow onto some toast or crostini and sprinkle it with salt and pepper. Serve this dish with polenta or potato puree.
Ingredients
Serves 4
1 Fennel bulb
Fennel fronds
1 full cup of Prunes (deseeded)
4.5 shanks of Osso Bucco (beef, I used water buffalo, but you can use beef!)
2 medium carrots
1 Onion
2 cloves Garlic
650 ml Bone Stock (beef preferably) otherwise water
1 Bay leaf
Pepper
Salt
3 tbs Olive oil/Ghee
Method
- Make the mirepoix which is the mixture of diced fennel, carrots, onions & garlic.
- On a stove top start cooking the mirepoix and bay leaf in ghee or olive oil until caramelised. Add the osso bucco cuts and seal the surfaces.
- Fill the pot with beef bone stock and the prunes then season with salt and pepper. Place the lid on top and bring to the boil. Once the pot is boiling, reduce the heat to medium high and allow to cook for 1 hour.
- After 1 hour, remove the lid. There should still be liquid, allow to cook without the lid for at least 15 minutes.
- Adjust the flavour by adding any additional seasoning. Then remove from the heat and allow to rest with the lid on top.
- Serve with your choice of potato puree, caulfilower puree, polenta, a long with some of the fresh fennel fronds which will freshen up the dish and also provide a nice aroma.
Enjoy!
Anastasia