ossobuco — Italy

Ossobuco is a braise built on cross-cut rounds of veal shank, each with the bone and its marrow left in place, so the marrow can be spooned out and eaten alongside the meat. The name, from the Lombard oss bus, describes the pierced bone at the centre of each slice. The dish is closely tied to Milan, in Lombardy, and is a fixture of the city's cooking, usually served alongside risotto coloured and flavoured with saffron. In French the dish is often written osso bucco, with an extra c that does not appear in the Italian spelling. To prepare it, the veal shank rounds are floured and browned on both sides, then braised slowly in dry white wine with chopped carrots, tomatoes and leeks until the meat is tender enough to pull away from the bone. The braising liquid reduces as it cooks, thickening into a light sauce that coats the meat. Recipes differ mainly in the vegetables used for the braise and in the finishing touch: some cooks add a gremolata of lemon zest, garlic and parsley scattered over the meat just before serving, others leave the sauce plain. The bone-in veal shank and the slow wine braise stay constant across the versions reported.