Beef Osso Bucco with Polenta
Ingredients
- 6 pieces of free range grass fed and finished osso bucco
- 1 carrot finely diced
- 1 onion finely diced
- 1 stick of celery finely diced
- 4 cloves of garlic finely diced
- 2 tins crushed tomatoes
- 3 tbsp tomato paste
- Thyme
- Bay leaves
- 1 cup dry white wine
- 1 cup free range chicken bone broth (plus extra for polenta)
- Salt and pepper
- Butter (plus extra for polenta)
- Polenta:
- 1 cup polenta
- 4 cups chicken bone broth (or you can use water instead)
- One big pinch of salt
- 2 tbsp butter
- Fresh parmesan cheese
- Gremolata (garnish):
- ½ cup chopped fresh flat leaf parsley
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 2 teaspoons grated lemon zest
Method
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Season beef with salt and pepper on both sides. Heat a chunk of butter in a high sided pan on high and brown the beef on both sides, then transfer to a plate.
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Turn the heat down and add onion, followed by garlic after a minute or so. After a few minutes, add carrot and celery and cook until softened.
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Add the wine, broth, tomato paste, tomatoes, bay leaves and a few sprigs of thyme and stir to combine. Add beef back to the pan. Pop a lid on, slightly ajar so the condensation doesn’t water down the sauce as it cooks, and simmer gently for about an hour and a half or until the meat is fall apart tender.
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About half an hour before the meat is done, start the polenta. Bring 4 cups of chicken bone broth to a boil in a saucepan, then add polenta slowly - stirring to ensure there are no lumps.
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Turn heat down to low and simmer gently for about 5 mins, stirring often, so the polenta thickens slightly. Then pop a lid on for a further 30 mins, stirring every 5 mins or so.
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At the same time, combine the ingredients for the gremolata in a bowl and set aside until the rest is done (it’s a good idea to prep this a bit ahead so the flavours have time to get to know one another).
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When the texture of the polenta is creamy and tender, melt in 2 tbsp butter, a generous grating of fresh parmesan, and any extra salt as needed to taste.
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Plate up the polenta with a spoon of sauce, one or two pieces of osso bucco, and a sprinkling of gremolata on top.
Tips for thickening the sauce: if you find the sauce for the osso bucco isn’t as thick as you’d like you can either remove the meat and simmer the sauce by itself for 10 mins or so until thicker, or you can add a bit of cornflour or thickening agent of your choice to speed up the process.
