Professor Bainbridge...on law, politics, religion, culture & food

Slow cooker osso buco

• 4 veal shanks (about 2 lbs)
• 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 4 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 large yellow onion, finely diced
• 1/2 cup finely diced celery
• 1/2 cup shredded carrots
• 2 cloves garlic minced
• 1 red bell pepper, peeled, seeded, and minced
• 1/2 teaspoon dried Italian Herbs
• 1 long fresh sprig rosemary
• 4 bay leaves
• 1/2 cup white wine
• 1 oz. dried porcini mushrooms, reconstituted as per package directions
• 1/2 of a 750 gram package Parmalat chopped tomatoes
• 1 cup low sodium chicken stock

Separately prepare:

• Zest of one lemon
• 1 clove garlic pressed
• 1/4 cup finely minced Italian parsley

Preheat a large skillet on high 1–2 minutes.

Mix flour, salt, and pepper. Dredge veal shanks. Shake off excess flour mixture. Add 2 tablespoons olive oil to skillet and warm over high heat until almost smoking. Brown veal shanks on all sides. Remove shanks to a plate and loosely tent with foil.

Wipe skillet with paper towel. Add 2 tablespoons olive oil to skillet and return to high heat. Add onion, celery, and carrots. Sprinkle lightly with salt. Reduce heat to medium-low and sweat until onions are just translucent (about 10 minutes). Don't let the veggies burn, but a slight brown on the edges of a few pieces is okay. Just before they're done, add garlic. Cook 1 minute. Add white wine and cook 1 minute. Add pepper and herbs. Stir thoroughly. Remove from heat.

Place sweated veggie mixture on bottom of slow cooker. Add mushrooms. Top with veal shanks. Top with chicken stock and tomatoes.

Set timer for 6 hours, cover, turn on, and walk away.

Skim any excess fat. Remove rosemary sprig and bay leaves. Serve with risotto Alla Milanese, sprinkling with the lemon zest mixture just before serving.

There are any number of wines that would work well with this meal. A super-Tuscan, such as a Tignanello would be an especially fine match. In this case, however, I plan to serve an eight year old Ridge Jimsomare Zinfandel.