Osso Buco Casareccio (Rustic, Braised Veal Shanks)

I am not sure why so many people find this dish so intimidating to make.  I tell my students, you don't have to have alot of cooking sense to cook, just common sense.   Take your time in the kitchen.  Good food can not be rushed.   This is an expensive dish to try to prepare and you don't want to ruin a good thing.  Hope you give it a try.  You might be surprised, how well you can cook like an Italian after all.  I know you can do it.  Buon Appetito

This dish serves 4 generously. 

Ingredients:
4 veal shanks
3 tablespoons olive oil ( to sear your veal)
2 tablespoons vegetable oil to cook your vegetables
1 cup diced carrots
One clove diced garlic
1/2  cup diced  sweet, red onions 
1/2 cup diced celery
teaspoon of salt (for adding to your vegetables while cooking)
2 teaspoons salt (veal)
1 teaspoon pepper(veal)
Flour for dredging and coating your veal
One bouquet Garni, tied together of sage, rosemary and thyme
2 tablespoons rtpaste
4 cups veal broth or beef stock
1 cup  of dry white wine
2 cups of peas, blanched
Pasta pot/ 8 quart with one tablespoon salt
12 ounces of your favorite Pasta that will hold your sauce.  I used Rigatoni.

In a Dutch oven, large enough to fit your ingredients, heat your olive oil to medium.   Add your salt and pepper to your  veal.   Dredge your veal  shanks in flour.  place them in the hot oil to brown lightly on all sides.
Remove them from the hot pan onto a cool plate and set aside.
Add 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil, and heat on low.  Add your onions, turn the Heat up And cook until fragrant and translucent. Then, add your celery and carrots.  Add another teaspoon of salt.  When everything is slightly golden,  fragrant and soft, add  your tomato paste and mix again.

 Add your veal back to the pan. Give them a turn to coat,  until everything is coated well and heated.
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F.

  Add your  wine to the pan  and bring to a simmer, scraping the bits of vegetables from the bottom of your pan. A few minutes later,  add all of your broth.  Be sure your broth is about an inch above your veal shanks. They should be Almost covered.  Add your bouquet Garni.  Bring to a simmer,  put a heavy lid  on the pan, and place into your oven for one hour and 30 minutes.  (Total oven time 1hr/30minutes).
Blanch 2 cups of green peas and set aside.   They will finish cooking later in your sauce.
After an hour, check your veal by carefully,  removing your cover.  If it looks reduced, but your meat does not loosen from the bone, add some additional, heated broth..  DO NOT PLACE ANYTHING COLD IN THE PAN.  Use HEATED BROTH ONLY.
 Place the lid back on the pan and cook 30 minutes more.  Be sure your lid is oven proof and tight fitting. 
Remove your pan from the oven when your meat is soft and beginning to come away from the bone.  Oven times will vary.  If it takes a few minutes more or less to cook, do not worry.   Discard  your Bouquet Garni.   Wrap up some fresh herbs for garnishing your plates.

 

 By this time, your sauce has reduced.  Remove  shanks and set aside.  Turn the heat to medium under your pan and  reduce the  liquid to about  half.   Let the liquid boil away slow and steadily.

Place  your  8 quart pasta pot on the heat and Add tablespoon of salt.
Meantime,  add your green peas to your veal sauce and let the heat of your liquid cook your peas (10 minutes).
Cook about 12 ounces of pasta until al dente and drain. 
Spoon your sauce over your pasta and mix.  Add your shanks to the top and serve.  If there is extra, you can freeze the sauce for later.    I like to serve Osso Buco,  separately. as a "secondo," with a nice piece of crusty bread.  Part of the fun is struggling to remove the marrow from inside the bone while eating.  I am not looking, if you would like to pick it up.  After all, I read the Queen of England picks up her fried chicken with her hands to eat, so why not?
Buon Appetito!
Special Note:  Be sure and choose a pasta that will hold your sauce like Rigatoni or any you like.