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ITALIAN FOOD
Osso Buco
WHAT YOU WILL NEED
2
veal shanks, bone in
1 tablespoons kosher salt
1
tablespoon black pepper
1
cup all-purpose flour
3
tablespoons Rouses Sicilian Olive Oil
1
tablespoon butter, unsalted
1
medium onion, diced
1
cup celery, diced
1
cup carrot, peeled and diced
3
cloves garlic, peeled and crushed
1
sprig rosemary
1
bay leaf
2
tablespoons red wine vinegar
1
can (14 ounces) diced tomatoes
32 ounces chicken stock
2
tablespoons Italian parsley, chopped
1
tablespoon lemon zest
HOW TO PREP
1. Season the veal shanks with the salt and
pepper, and dredge in the flour. Shake off
excess.
2. In a heavy-bottomed pan, heat the olive
oil and butter over medium-high heat, and
brown the veal shanks.
3. Remove veal shanks from the pan after
browning, and set aside. Add the onion,
celery, carrot and garlic, and cook until
translucent, brown and caramelized.
4. Add the rosemary sprig and bay leaf, then
deglaze the pan with the red wine vinegar.
but also proteinaceous bean; Tuscans in
particular are sometimes known — not
always flatteringly — as
mangiafagioli
, or
bean eaters, by the rest of the country.
Specialties Made from It:
Tuscan bread,
considered by many to be the best in Italy,
is generally unsalted. It may undergird
soups, show up in salads (
panzanella
) and
be toasted for appetizers (crostini). Pastas
appear often — again, usually in fresh form,
containing eggs and made from all-purpose
flour, but sometimes are made from harder
semole, or durumwheat, and different shapes
are particular favorites in certain regions.
It’s truly a heaven for starch lovers, with
a Tuscan ravioli that’s plump and potato-
stuffed, and the Tuscan specialty called
pici
,
a thick, hand-rolled, spaghetti-like pasta. In
Umbria, a similar pasta shape, thick though
spaghetti-like, is found in
strozzapreti
( priest
chokers) or
umbricelli
(earthworms).
Southern Regions
Where:
The ankle, foot and high heel of the
boot of Italy, the South is where it’s warmer,
drenched by ever more sun and sea, and
there are islands: the autonomous region
of Sicily, plus Capri, Ischia and Procida.
Mountainous but with rich volcanic soil,
every inch of land goes untilled.
Main Grain(s):
Wheat; durum wheat is one
of the area’s principal crops.
Specialties Made from It:
Pasta, of course
… and here the pasta is more likely to be
dried, not fresh, and made with eggs and
durum (semolina) wheat flour. This is the
region from which the American-Italian
bastardized red sauce came … but what a
difference in fresher-than-fresh Italy. Not
just the tomatoes,with that volcanic and sea-
blown terroir, but the herbs, the artichokes,
the olives and olive oil, the eggplant …
all partner beautifully with pasta, as do
fish and seafood from the omnipresent
sea. Pizza originated in this part of the
world, which is also cradle to savory, filled,
yeasted doughs like calzone. And one can
taste the millennia of trade and the foreign
influences fromNorth Africa and elsewhere
here; sweet-hot flavors mark many savory
dishes. Favored regional pasta shapes have
their sway here, too:
Puglia has its famous
orecchiette
(little ears), while
Sicily boosts
busiate
, a long pasta hand-rolled into fusilli,
shaped around a stick or a piece of wire.
5. Scrape up the browned bits and add the
tomatoes and chicken stock.
6. Place the veal shanks back in the pan, and
submerge in the cooking liquid.
7. Simmer for 30 minutes, or until the veal is
tender and pulls easily from the bone.
8. While the Osso Buco is simmering, chop
the parsley and lemon zest, and combine.
9. Before serving, add the lemon and parsley
to the pot and stir.
10. Serve over the Polenta (see recipe).
Polenta
WHAT YOU WILL NEED
1 cup yellow cornmeal
5 cups chicken stock (or water)
2 tablespoons butter, unsalted
cup Parmigiano-Reggiano, grated (or
Parmesan, grated)
Salt and pepper, to taste
HOW TO PREP
1. Bring the chicken stock (or water) to a boil,
then slowly add the cornmeal. Make sure to
mix with a whisk while adding the cornmeal
so no clumps form.
2. Bring mixture back to a boil until it begins
to thicken, about 5 minutes, then reduce to a
simmer for about 20 minutes.
3. When the polenta pulls away from the side
of the pan, add the butter and Parmigiano-
Reggiano (or Parmesan) cheese and mix.
Add salt and pepper to taste.
photo by
Romney Caruso