Osso buco bianco with Risotto milanese

For the osso buco
3 tablespoons flour
6 x 150g-250g pieces veal shin on thebone (I bought mine from Ruby’s List – rubyslist.co.nz)
150g butter
60ml olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
2 sticks celery, peeled, chopped
3 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
6 large sage leaves, thinly sliced
1 tablespoon finely chopped rosemary
6-8 anchovies
500ml white wine or vermouth
150ml chicken stock

Preheat the oven to 170°C.

Season the flour generously with salt and freshly ground black pepper then dust each shin piece well with the flour.

Melt the butter in an ovenproof casserole dish then sear each piece of veal, turning, until browned all over. Set aside.

Add the oil to the casserole then gently fry the onion, celery and garlic for 5 minutes or until soft and light golden.

Return the veal to the casserole, ensuring the pieces don’t overlap. Sprinkle with the sage and rosemary then lay an anchovy (or 2 if they’re small) on each piece of veal.

Pour the wine and stock over the veal then cover with a lid and cook in the oven for 2 hours.

Use tongs to remove the veal to a plate. Place the casserole dish on the stovetop and bring to the boil then simmer until the sauce is thick and glossy (if there’s not much liquid left in the casserole before you do this, add a little extra stock). Spoon the sauce over the veal then serve on risotto.

Risotto Milanese & gremolata
2 tablespoons chopped parsley
1 tablespoon lemon zest
1 small clove garlic, crushed to a paste with a pinch of salt
4-5 tablespoons olive oil
1 large onion, finely diced
1 stick celery, peeled and finely diced
400g Italian risotto rice (arborio or carnaroli)
200ml white wine
1 teaspoon saffron threads, toasted over very low heat until crisp
1.5 litres chicken stock, simmering
100g chilled butter, cubed
150g freshly grated parmesan

To make the gremolata, combine the parsley, lemon zest and garlic in a small bowl. Reserve.

Heat the oil in a heavy-based saucepan then gently fry the onion and celery for 5 minutes. Add the rice and stir to coat.

Add the wine and cook over a low heat, stirring, until it has been absorbed. Crumble in the saffron.

Start adding the hot stock, a ladle at a time, stirring continuously and allowing the stock to be fully absorbed before adding the next amount – by the time you add the final ladle, the risotto should be thick and creamy. Stir in the butter, piece by piece, and the parmesan.

Serve the risotto with the osso buco, sprinkled with gremolata, with the bitter leaf salad on the side.

Bitter leaf salad
1@1⁄2 cups coarsely sliced radicchio leaves
1@1⁄2 cups coarsely sliced witloof leaves
1⁄3 cup finely chopped green olives
2 tablespoons lemon juice
2 tablespoons shaved parmesan

Toss the salad leaves, olives and lemon juice together then sprinkle with the parmesan.

Wine - A dark and dashing Waiheke Island syrah.