Lamb Ossobuco
with an ‘almost’ Risotto Milanese
Not
authentically Italian I know, I know. But in this country veal shanks are a
devil to get hold of and neck
fillets of lamb are absolutely everywhere. So why not, I
thought, and why not indeed because this is supremely good. The next point
is the vexed question of ossobuco’s
traditional accompaniment – risotto Milanese
which is a lot of fiddly bother and cheats are never going to stand slaving
over a hot saucepan of rice
for half an hour. Fear not – I can promise you all the right flavours if not
precisely the correct textures but again it’s extremely good. The very
authentic bit in all this is Cirio i Sughi Rustici
sauce – very tomatoey and very Italian and the gremolata, a mixture of lemon peel, parsley and garlic is sprinkled on
top.
Serves : 2
(Double for 4 or Treble for 6)
Ingredients:
1lb / 450g Neck of Lamb Fillet
1 Medium Onion
1 Clove Garlic
1 x 400g Jar
of Cirio i Sughi Rustici (Basilico)
1 Dessertspoon Olive
Oil
6 floz / 175ml Dry White Wine
1 tbsp White Wine
Vinegar
Salt and Freshly
Milled Black Pepper
FOR THE RISOTTO:
1 Small Onion, finely
chopped
1oz / 25g Butter
5 floz / 150ml Carnaroli
Rice
5 floz / 150ml White Wine
5 floz / 150ml Vegetable Stock, made-up from Marigold
Swiss Vegetable Bouillon Powder
A Generous Pinch of Saffron
2 Heaped tbsp Freshly Grated Parmesan
Salt
FOR THE GREMOLATA (TO FINISH):
1 Clove Garlic
1 Heaped tbsp Fresh Parsley
1 Heaped tsp
Lemon Zest
Instructions:
1.
Pre-heat
the oven to Gas Mark 6 / 400°F / 200°C.
2.
Begin by trimming
off the obvious fat from the neck fillets, then slice them into little round nuggets about 1˝ inches /
4cm thick.
3.
Then peel
and slice
the onion and the garlic and arrange them
in the base of a shallow, sauté pan, heatproof dish or casserole.
4.
Place the
little nuggets of meat
in an upright position on top of the onions, then sprinkle
in the oil,
season with salt and pepper and pop the
whole thing on to a high shelf in the oven and leave it there without a lid for
30 minutes. After this time, the edges of the lamb will be nicely
browned.
5.
After
that, whisk the tomato sauce, wine and wine vinegar together
in a jug and when the meat
has had its 30 minutes, pour the tomato mixture all
over.
6.
Then turn
the oven temperature down to Gas Mark 1 /
275°F / 140°C and still leaving the lid off, let it cook for another 1˝
hours.
7.
Now for
the risotto and there is a strict rule here: one thing the cheat must do with
this risotto is use a timer – given that it’s dead easy otherwise, this is no
big deal. Overcooking makes it stodgy so don’t leave
it around before serving.
8.
All you do
is take a small frying pan with a lid, sweat the onion in it in the butter for 3 – 4
minutes, stir in the rice, then add
the wine and stock
and saffron, along
with some salt.
9.
As soon as
it reaches simmering point, turn the heat down to its lowest setting, put a lid
or a suitably sized plate on top and let it cook gently for 20 minutes.
10.
And stand by
to serve it as soon as the timer goes or presto pronto, as they say in
11.
Meanwhile,
make the gremolata. Finely, peel, chop and crush the garlic and chop the parsley.
12.
Then mix
the garlic with the parsley and grated lemon zest.
13.
Then when
the rice is
ready – the grains will be cooked but still have some bite and be surrounded by
a small amount of creamy liquid – stir in the grated Parmesan.
14.
Serve the rice divided into
the centre of hot plates with the lamb on top of the sauce
and the parsley gremolata sprinkled over the top. All
I have to say now is buon appetito!
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