Ossibuchi con il risotto. From Milan. Veal has gone out of fashion in the UK at the moment. It never did in the Italy because they don’t use the “crate” method. Italians are more practical when it comes to food. The aversion to “white” veal has nothing to do with ethics, it doesn’t taste as nice. This is one of the most famous Italian veal dishes. In my opinion the best bit of the dish is the marrow, which I always save until the end. Serves 4.
Ossobucco finished dish
4 slices of veal shank with the bone in the centre (ossibuchi)
Fry the onion (and the celery if used) and the whole garlic clove, over a low heat, for a few minutes in the butter until softened. Remove the garlic before serving( if you want a stronger garlic flavour, chop the clove and fry it along with the onion).
Lightly flour the veal slices and add them to the onions. Fry them on both sides until they are lightly browned. Be careful not to disturb the marrow in the centre of the bone.
Turn up the heat and add the glass of wine. Let it almost completely evaporate.
Add a ladle of hot stock, reduce the heat to low, cover and cook for 35-40 minutes until tender.
Cook the risotto using the usual method, adding the saffron along with the last ladle of stock.
When the veal is cooked add the chopped lemon zest, half a clove of chopped garlic(optional) and chopped parsley (gremolata) and serve on top of the risotto.
Polpettone pugliese. This is another recipe that I cook a lot. Other recipes cook the meatloaf in a tomato sauce, but this one roasts it dry. It uses minced veal, but if you can’t find it then minced beef will be fine. Italians don’t use the crated “white” variety anyway, so the veal is very pink. This is often served with roast potatoes. Serves 6.
Polpettone freddo con verdure. This is a really nice summery dish and would be perfect for a picnic. When I cooked it, I couldn’t find minced veal so I used 50/50 pork and beef with good results. Serves 4 hungry people as a main course. It could be used as an antipasto too.
3 large vine tomatoes (or 200g tinned chopped tomatoes, drained)
10 fresh basil leaves
1 tbsp olive oil
Salt & Pepper
Wash and top and tail the beans. Peel the carrot and chop into batons. Parboil the veg in salted water for 3-4 minutes.
Mix together the meat, the eggs, half the clove of garlic (finely chopped), the marjoram, the ricotta and the grana. Season with salt and pepper.
Lay a piece of grease proof paper flat on the work surface. Spread the meat mixture out so that you get a rectangle about 2cm deep.
Arrange the vegetables on top and, using the paper to help, roll up to form a meatloaf (like you would for a swiss roll). Press together firmly and make sure the ends are closed.
Summer meatloaf ready to cook
Transfer to a baking tin, cover with foil and bake at 200°C for an hour. Remove the foil 15 minutes before the end of cooking to allow the loaf to brown. Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely.
Make the salsa by deseeding and chopping the tomatoes with the basil and the other 1/2 clove of garlic. Stir in the oil and season with salt and pepper.
When ready to serve, slice the meatloaf into 1-2cm rounds and spoon a little of the salsa onto each slice
Carpaccio Di Carne. The original version of this dish comes from Venice. According to Arrigo Cipriani, the present-day owner, Carpaccio was invented at Harry’s Bar in Venice, where it was first served to the countess Amalia Nani Mocenigo in 1950 when she informed the bar’s owner that her doctor had recommended she eat only raw meat. It consisted of thin slices of raw beef dressed with a mustard and mayonnaise sauce. The dish was named Carpaccio by Giuseppe Cipriani, the bar’s former owner, in reference to the Venetian painter Vittore Carpaccio, because the colours of the dish reminded him of paintings by Carpaccio.This lighter version is far more common nowadays.
This is another recipe from Tiziana (many thanks). This one of the most common ‘Sunday lunches’ in Bari. I think it’s known as “Sunday gravy” in the Sates. The recipe doesn’t give very precise measurements as it depends how many people you are cooking for and your personal taste. As a rough guide allow 2-300g of meat per person. Tiziana usually serves the ragu with orecchiette, but you can use your favourite pasta. Serve the meat separately as the second course.
Ragu alla Barese ingredients
Thin slices of meat (you can use beef, veal, pork, or horse meat),flattened with meat mallet
Pieces of lamb (preferably on the bone)
Lardo(salted lard) or prosciutto fat or fatty pancetta
Chop together the lardo, parsley, garlic, pepper and pecorino to make a coarse paste.
Place a little of the paste in the middle of each slice of meat. Roll up and secure with a toothpick.
Take a large pan(NOT nonstick) and add the onion, some olive oil, the meat rolls, the lamb pieces and half a glass of water.
Cook over a high heat making sure that the meat catches on the bottom of the pan but doesn’t burn. Scrape the pan frequently with a wooden spoon. This is an important step as it contributes a lot of the flavour of the sauce.
Add the wine and allow to evaporate
Add enough passata to cover the meat well
Cook over a very low heat until the meat is tender. (A slow cooker would be ideal)
A few minutes before the end of cooking, season with salt and pepper.
For the best results, allow to cool, refrigerate over night and reheat the next day.
When you are ready to serve, remove the meat and keep warm.
Serve the sauce with pasta as the first course followed by the meat as the second course.
Brasato Al Barolo. From Piemonte. Barolo is the king of Italian wines. It’s also a bit pricey so I used a very nice Primitivo di Manduria instead. Don’t tell anyone 😉 This dish is often served with polenta.
Serves 6.
Brasato al Barolo ingredients
1 kilogram piece breast of veal (or beef) — whole
30 grams butter
olive oil
1 bottle Barolo (or other full bodied red wine)
1 medium onion — finely chopped
1 stick celery — finely chopped
1 medium carrot — finely chopped
3 cloves
1 stick cinnamon
3 bay leaves
1 sprig rosemary
2 cloves garlic
You will need a cooking pot that is suitable for slow cooking, Earthenware would be ideal.
Add the veal, onion, carrot, celery, cloves, cinnamon, bay leaves, rosemary and garlic to the cooking pot.
Pour on the wine, making sure that the meat is completely covered.
Brasato al Barolo marinating
Leave to marinate for at least 12 hours.
Remove the meat from the marinade (reserve) and dry thoroughly with kitchen paper.
Heat the butter and olive oil in the cooking pot and fry the veal on all sides until it is well coloured and has a ‘crust’.
Re add the marinade.
Season, cover and cook over a very low heat for around 3 hours. Turn the meat from time to time (or baste with the sauce)
At the end of cooking remove the rosemary, bay leaves, cinnamon and garlic.
Remove the meat and allow to rest before slicing. I prefer quite thick slices, but it’s more usual to make them quite thin.
If the sauce is still a bit thin, reduce over a high heat until it thickens. You can sieve or liquidize it to make a smoother sauce.
I struggled to find an English translation of polpette. I don’t think ‘burger’ or, even worse ‘rissole’, quite do it justice. In the end I left it in Italian. I’m sure you’ll get the idea 🙂
Serves 4
400 g veal — minced (or beef)
2 medium onions
100 g fresh bread crumbs
2 eggs
100 g Gorgonzola cheese milk
olive oil
flour Grana cheese
Moisten the breadcrumbs with a little milk
Fry the onion in some oil for a few minutes.
To make the polpette, mix together the veal, bread crumbs, onions, eggs and a little Grana. Season with salt and pepper.
Form into ‘burger’ shapes
Dust with flour and fry in olive oil (or a mix of oil and butter) turning them a couple of times
When they are cooked, lower the heat, place a slice of Gorgonzola on each polpetta and cover the pan
Ossibuchi con il risotto. From Milan. Veal has gone out of fashion in the UK at the moment. It never did in the Italy because they don’t use the “crate” method. Italians are more practical when it comes to food. The aversion to “white” veal has nothing to do with ethics, it doesn’t taste as nice. This is one of the most famous Italian veal dishes. In my opinion the best bit of the dish is the marrow, which I always save until the end. Serves 4.
Carpaccio Di Carne. The original version of this dish comes from Venice. According to Arrigo Cipriani, the present-day owner, Carpaccio was invented at Harry’s Bar in Venice, where it was first served to the countess Amalia Nani Mocenigo in 1950 when she informed the bar’s owner that her doctor had recommended she eat only raw meat. It consisted of thin slices of raw beef dressed with a mustard and mayonnaise sauce. The dish was named Carpaccio by Giuseppe Cipriani, the bar’s former owner, in reference to the Venetian painter Vittore Carpaccio, because the colours of the dish reminded him of paintings by Carpaccio.This lighter version is far more common nowadays.
This is another recipe from Tiziana (many thanks). This one of the most common ‘Sunday lunches’ in Bari. I think it’s known as “Sunday gravy” in the Sates. The recipe doesn’t give very precise measurements as it depends how many people you are cooking for and your personal taste. As a rough guide allow 2-300g of meat per person. Tiziana usually serves the ragu with orecchiette, but you can use your favourite pasta. Serve the meat separately as the second course.
