On a cold day, there is absolutely nothing like coming home to a house full of the aroma of a casserole. It warms me straight to the cockles. They are also very easy to prepare, a few minutes of chopping and sautéing then you leave it alone and attend to other household chores then voila! a beautiful meal to show how much you love your family.

Because of their long cooking time, I dont have enough time to allow it to simmer on a day when I have worked, so I prepare them the day before, which has the added benefit of intensifying the flavours overnight.

Osso bucco is the name given to the Shank, here I have used beef. In this recipe the shanks are slowly braised in a rich tomato sauce, its richness coming from the use of a beef consomme rather than a regular beef stock. The lemon rind and the bayleaf infuse the sauce with freshness, and when the Gremolada is added, it gives the whole dish another level.

I hope your family enjoys this as much as mine did. Happy cooking xx

Osso Bucco

Ingredients

6 medium sized beef osso bucco around 2 inches wide

90 g butter

3 carrots diced finely

2 large onions diced finely

3 sticks celery diced finely

3 cloves minced garlic

flour

salt and pepper to taste

800 g passatta or cans diced tomato

½ cup red wine

2 cups beef consommé

2 bayleaf

1 strip lemon rind

for the gremolada

rind of a whole lemon, diced very finely

2 tsp minced garlic

3 tablespoons parsley

1. Pre-heat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius
2. Dust the Osso Bucco with flour and salt and pepper
3. Heat 40 g of butter and a splash of oil in a heavy cast iron casserole dish and brown the osso bucco on both sides and set aside
4. Add another 20 g of butter to the casserole dish and add the carrots, celery, onions and sauté until softened
5. Add the garlic and sauté until fragrant
6. Add the tomatoes, wine beef consommé, bayleaf and a strip of lemon rind
7. Bring the sauce to the boil and season with salt and pepper
8. Return the Osso Bucco to the sauce and bring to the boil again, then cover the dish and place in the oven for 1.5 hours or until the meat is very tender.
9. Make the gremolada by combining all the ingredients in a small bowl.

10. Serve with plain rice or Risotto Milanese, or Mashed potatoes.

Have the gremolada sitting on the table for each person to sprinkle on their plate.
Serves 6