Anthony Bourdain’s Ossobuco

Curious how Anthony Bourdain tried to woo his wife? He made this dish for her on one of their first dates. The two have since been divorced for quite some time, by the way. 

Anthony Bourdain on his Ossobuco:
I learned to make this dish at the restaurant Le Madri, which, like so many places on my résumé, unfortunately no longer exists. Without exaggerating: it was an excellent place, and the braised lamb shank was superb.

I made it during one of the first dates with my wife (then still my girlfriend). She comes from a town near Milan – the birthplace of this dish – and when she saw what I had cooked for her in my tiny kitchen, she immediately called her mother and made fun of me (in Italian) for attempting something so foolish and ambitious.

But when she had finished eating, she said: ‘Not bad.’ And believe me, coming from her, that is a huge compliment.

Method

Season the shanks all over with salt and pepper, coat them in flour and shake off the excess. Heat 60 milliliters of oil in a heavy-based sauté pan over medium-high heat, add the shanks and brown them on both sides. Work in batches if necessary. Transfer the browned shanks to a large plate using kitchen tongs.

Heat the remaining 3 tablespoons of oil in a heavy casserole over medium heat and add the onion, carrot, celery and garlic. Season with salt and pepper and cook, stirring with a wooden spoon, for 8 to 10 minutes, or until the vegetables are soft and beginning to brown.

Pour in the wine, bring to a boil and cook for 15 to 20 minutes, or until it has reduced by about half. Add the tomatoes (with their liquid) and stock and bring to a boil. Add the orange segments, bay leaf, rosemary and veal shanks, bring back to a boil and then reduce the heat to low.

Braise the shanks over low heat for about 3 hours, stirring very occasionally, until the meat is extremely tender and almost falling off the bone. If serving immediately, place 1 shank in each bowl, but if you want to wait a little longer, remove them from the sauce and leave them to cool. (Just return them to the sauce shortly before serving and reheat them very slowly over medium heat.) Remove the rosemary sprigs, orange segments and bay leaf from the pan. Taste and season with salt and pepper.

Spoon some of the warm sauce over the shanks and garnish with grated orange zest and, if you like, some parsley. Serve the saffron rice separately or spoon it into the bowls.

Image: © Bobby Fisher

It Doesn’t Get Better Than This

Anthony Bourdain
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