ITALIAN DISHES

 A friend brought osso buco for our bridge lunch, which we all thoroughly enjoyed.                 

 

                                                       OSSO BUCO

 

6 large pieces of veal

Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

3 tbsp olive oil

1 large carrot, scraped and chopped

1 leek, white part only, trimmed and chopped

1 celery stalk, threaded and chopped

1 onion, peeled and grated

3 cloves garlic, peeled and minced

1 tbsp finely grated lemon zest

½ tsp crushed red pepper

3 tomatoes, halved, deseeded, grated, skins discarded

 

2 rosemary sprigs

5 thyme sprigs

2 bay leaves

 

1 cup white wine

4 cups chicken stock

Grated lemon zest

Chopped parsley

 

Season the meat and refrigerate overnight.  Preheat oven to 180 C (350 F). Remove the meat from the fridge and sauté 3 pieces of meat in olive oil and cook for 8 minutes, turning occasionally until brown and place on a plate.  Then repeat the same procedure with the remaining meat.

 

Add the carrots, celery, onion, and garlic to the pan and simmer in olive oil for 3 minutes, stirring constantly.  Pour in the wine and stock and cook until the liquid reduces by half.  Add the tomato, rosemary, thyme, and bay leaves and return the meat to the pan and bring to a boil and place in the oven and roast for 1 ½ hour until the meat is tender discarding the herbs.  

 

Serve the meat and vegetables garnished with grated lemon zest and chopped parsley. 

   

                                                       MINESTRONE

A delightful Italian soup.

 

Ingredients:

2 cups coarsely chopped onions

1 cup chopped celery

1 cup chopped parsley

¼ cup olive oil

2 garlic cloves, peeled and minced

5 cups beef broth

2 cups, skinned, deseeded, and chopped tomatoes

1 cup tomato sauce

2 tbsp fresh chopped basil

Salt and pepper to taste

750 g (1 ½ lb) veal cut into bite-sized pieces

1 ½ cups sliced courgettes

1 cup uncooked spaghetti, broken into small  pieces

Boiled brown beans

 

In a saucepan, sauté the onions, celery, and parsley in olive oil until tender,  Add the garlic and cook 1 minute longer.  Pour in the broth, tomatoes and tomato sauce, carrots, basil, salt, and pepper, and bring to a boi

 

In a large frying pan sauté the meat in olive oil until no longer pink and transfer to a plate.  Then pour off all but 2 tbsp of olive oil from the pot and reduce the heat to medium, and add the meat with its juices and simmer until the meat is tender, approximately 2 ½ hours. 

 

Skim the liquid for impurities and strain it through a fine sieve over the meat.  Cover and refrigerate overnight.

 

About 2 hours before you wish to serve, spoon any fat from the surface of the soup and discard.  Then heat the soup to a simmer and drop in the spaghetti and boil for 12 minutes or until “al dente”.

 

Serve the minestrone with the boiled brown beans sprinkled with Parmesan.   

 

 

                                              PASTA CON FAGIOLI

175 g borlotti beans

2 celery stalks, threaded

2 carrots, peeled 

sprig of rosemary

2 tbsp olive oil

75 g pancetta, diced

175 g small macaroni

2 tomatoes, halved, deseeded, grated, skins discarded

1 onion, peeled and shredded  

25 g butter

15 g Parmesan or pecorino, grated

Soak the beans in plenty of cold water for about eight hours.  Strain and place in a large saucepan with one each of carrots and celery stalks, both snapped in half and half the onion,

Cover with cold water and bring to a boil and skim the surface,  add the rosemary and reduce the heat and cook for about one hour or until the beans are tender.  Towards the end of the cooking period, peel and cut the remaining carrot and celery into fine dice, keeping the onion separate. 

Heat the olive oil in a wide saucepan and cook the shredded onion until soft and golden.  Then add the carrots and celery and do the same.  Add the pancetta and fry until it releases its fat, then stir in the tomatoes breaking them up with a spoon.

Once the beans are cooked discard the rosemary and remove a few vegetables, a ladleful of beans and a little of the cooking liquid and mash them together into a paste.  Then stir them into the soup and simmer gently until you cook the pasta in salted water until "al dente" and stir them into the soup.  

Stir in the butter and serve sprinkled with grated cheese. 

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