Barramundi Osso Buco Food

OSSO BUCO

Steps:

• Place the rosemary, thyme, bay leaf and cloves into cheesecloth and secure with twine. This will be your bouquet garni.
• For the veal shanks, pat dry with paper towels to remove any excess moisture. Veal shanks will brown better when they are dry. Secure the meat to the bone with the kitchen twine. Season each shank with salt and freshly ground pepper. Dredge the shanks in flour, shaking off excess.
• In a large Dutch oven pot, heat vegetable oil until smoking. Add tied veal shanks to the hot pan and brown all sides, about 3 minutes per side. Remove browned shanks and reserve.
• In the same pot, add the onion, carrot and celery. Season with salt at this point to help draw out the moisture from the vegetables. Saute until soft and translucent, about 8 minutes. Add the tomato paste and mix well. Return browned shanks to the pan and add the white wine and reduce liquid by half, about 5 minutes. Add the bouquet garni and 2 cups of the chicken stock and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cover pan and simmer for about 1 1/2 hours or until the meat is falling off the bone. Check every 15 minutes, turning shanks and adding more chicken stock as necessary. The level of cooking liquid should always be about 3/4 the way up the shank.
• Carefully remove the cooked shanks from the pot and place in decorative serving platter. Cut off the kitchen twine and discard.
• Remove and discard bouquet garni from the pot.
• Pour all the juices and sauce from the pot over the shanks. Garnish with chopped parsley and lemon zest.

OSSO BUCO WITH RISOTTO MILANESE

Steps:

• For the osso buco: Sprinkle the veal with salt and pepper and heat the oil in a large Dutch oven over medium heat. Spread some flour on a plate, then dredge the veal in the flour on all sides and add to the oil. Brown well on both sides, 2 minutes a side. Remove to a plate.
• Add the onion, carrot and celery to the pot and cook, stirring, until the onion wilts, about 4 minutes. Stir in the rosemary and thyme. Add the white wine, increase the heat and boil until reduced by half, about 2 minutes. Add the tomatoes, broth and bay leaves. Reduce the heat so that the liquid is simmering gently, and nestle in the veal. Add water, if necessary, to come three-quarters of the way up the sides of the meat. Cover and cook until the veal is tender and a paring knife inserted in the meat slides out easily (insert the knife in several pieces to make sure all are done), 1 hour 15 minutes to 1 hour 30 minutes. Remove the veal to a plate.
• Strain the sauce into a fat separator, pressing on the solids. Wipe out the Dutch oven. Pour the defatted sauce back into the Dutch oven and reduce over high heat until thickened and the sauce just coats the back of a spoon. Cut the strings on the osso buco and return the meat to the sauce. Remove from the heat, cover and keep warm while you make the risotto.
• For the risotto Milanese: Combine the broth and 2 cups water in a medium saucepan. Bring to a simmer and add the saffron, then turn the heat very low to just keep warm. Heat a medium Dutch oven over medium heat, then add the olive oil. When the oil is hot, add the onion, 1/2 teaspoon salt and several grinds of black pepper; cook until softened but not browned, 4 to 5 minutes.
• Add the rice and cook, stirring, to coat the grains in the oil, about 2 minutes. Add the white wine, bring to a simmer and cook until absorbed, about 2 minutes. Add enough of the hot broth to just cover the rice. Simmer, stirring occasionally until almost totally absorbed. Continue to add broth and stir until the rice is creamy and al dente, about 18 minutes from the first addition. (The risotto will be a bit soupy at this point.)
• Remove from the heat. Stir in the butter and Parmesan until melted and creamy. Season with salt and pepper.
• For the gremolata: Combine the parsley, garlic and lemon zest in a small bowl.
• Spoon the risotto into 4 shallow wide bowls. Top each serving with a piece of osso buco and spoon the sauce over the top. Sprinkle with the gremolata.

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.

PORK OSSO BUCO

Steps:

• In a shallow dish, stir together flour, salt, and black pepper.
• Dredge meat in seasoned flour.
• In a large skillet, melt butter with oil over medium heat.
• Brown meat.
• Remove meat from pan, and set aside.
• Add onion, carrots, celery, and garlic to drippings in pan.
• Cook and stir for about 5 minutes.
• Stir in tomato sauce, water, basil, thyme, parsley, and bay leaf.
• Return meat to pan.
• Bring to a boil, and reduce heat to simmer.
• Cover, and cook for 1 hour, or until tender.

OSSO BUCCO

Steps:

• Place the flour mix in a flat plate and cover each side of ossobuccos.
• In a hot pan put in the olive oil and at high heat brown the ossobucco 2 at a time make sure each side is golden brown.
• Set the meat aside.
• In the same pan add the onions, carrot, celery, and bay leaf; lower heat and cook 5 minutes turning occ.
• ADD the wine; let boil and reduce by half. Add the tomatoes with juice and tomato paste, salt and pepper, and return the veal to the pot, reduce heat cover and let simmer for 1 hr 30 minutes.
• Uncover.
• With a fork break the bigger pieces of tomatoes.
• Put1 ossobucco per plate; cover with sauce topped with gremolata.
• Serve with pennene.

OSSOBUCCO

Steps:

• Soak the porcini for at least 15 minutes in 200ml/7fl oz boiling water. Don't remove the membrane that holds the veal together, but trim off any obviously fatty or lumpy bits. Dust both sides of the meat with the seasoned flour.
• Heat the butter and oil in a very large flameproof sauté pan or casserole over a medium-high heat. When the sizzling stops, put in the veal and fry the slices for 2-3 minutes on each side until golden brown. Transfer the meat to a plate.
• Replace the pan over a low to medium heat and tip in the carrot and celery. Gently fry for 5 minutes until the vegetables have slightly softened, then raise the heat and pour in the wine. Bubble the wine furiously for 2 minutes, then remove the pan from the heat.
• Fish the softened porcini out of the soaking liquid, squeeze out the excess moisture and reserve it. Chop the porcini roughly and add to the sauté pan, together with the soaking liquid. Add the sugocasa or passata and stock, then stir.
• Put the veal back into the pan in a single layer, cover and bring to the boil. Immediately reduce the heat and simmer very gently for 2 hours, turning the veal slices halfway, until the meat is very soft. The liquid should reduce to a thickish sauce, but if it's still thin after 1¼ -1½ hours, half remove the lid to allow evaporation. Serve with the grain 'risotto' (see link, right).

BIBA'S OSSO BUCCO

Steps:

• In small bowl, combine dried mushrooms and hot water.
• Allow mushrooms to reconstitute, making sure to save the liquid!
• Season veal with salt and pepper, then dredge in flour, shaking off excess.
• Heat oil over medium high heat in deep skillet, and brown veal shanks on both sides, adding more oil as needed.
• Remove veal from pan, add diced vegetables and mushrooms, cook for for 5-10 minutes or until browned, adding more oil if needed.
• Return veal to pan, add wine and reduce for 5 minutes.
• Be sure to scrape up any brown bits off the bottom of the pan--that's where the flavor is!
• Add mushroom water, tomato sauce, and chicken broth.
• Simmer on very low heat for at least 45 minutes, or bake at 325 degrees for 1 and 1/2 hours, or until veal is fork tender.
• Serve over creamy polenta, rice, mashed potatoes, or egg noodles.

BARRAMUNDI OSSO BUCO

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 250F. Set a large skillet over medium heat.
• Add the bacon in one layer and cook stirring occasionally until nicely browned and the fat is rendered, 5-8 minutes. Add onion, carrots, celery, whole garlic cloves, and a generous pinch of salt. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are tender and golden brown, 10-12 minutes.
• Add the herbs, tomatoes, and wine. Bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat to low, and simmer for 15 minutes.
• While the sauce is cooking, prepare the barramundi. Dry barramundi well on paper towels. Season it all over with salt and pepper, and dredge in flour, shaking off access. Set a large non-stick or cast-iron skillet over high heat. When hot, add the oil and swirl the skillet to coat. Place the fish in the pan without crowding and cook on all sides until golden brown (1-2 minutes per side). Remove barramundi from the pan and set aside. Taste the sauce and correct seasoning.
• Place barramundi in the pan with the sauce and spoon the sauce on top of it. Cover the skillet and place in the oven for about 18 minutes per inch of thickness. Start testing for doneness 5 minutes before the estimated cooking time is up. The fish is done when it's at 140F. Serve immediately with the sauce and some good crusty bread for dipping. Mashed potatoes are also quite heavenly with this dish.