The Sunday Chef: Osso Buco (sort of) with Garlic Chive Mashed Potatoes

Osso Buco Ingredients:
-1 cup of flour
-Sea salt and fresh ground black pepper
-4 pieces of veal shank (I accidently bought lamb shanks, so really this is not Osso Buco)
-Olive oil
-3 tbsp butter
-1 onion diced
-1 celery stalk diced
-2 carrots diced
-1 lemon, zest peeled off in fat strips with a vegetable peeler
-4 garlic cloves, minced
-2 bay leaves
-1/4 cup chopped parsley
-1 bottle of dry red wine
-1 can low sodium beef stock
-1 28 oz can of whole tomatoes hand crushed

Gremolata Ingredients:
-1/4 cup of pine nuts toasted
-1 anchovy fillet
-2 garlic cloves
-Zest of 1 orange finely grated
-2 tbsp chopped parsley


Garlic Chive Mashed Potatoes Ingredients:
-1 head of garlic
-2 lbs of yukon gold potatoes, peeled and quartered
-1 tbsp sea salt
-1 cup heavy cream
-1/2 cup butter
-sea salt and fresh ground black pepper
-2 tbsp chopped fresh chives

Directions:
1. Mix flour, salt, and pepper.  Taste to make sure seasoned appropriately.
2. Dredge shanks in flour and tap off excess.
3. Add oil and butter to dutch oven.  Sear shanks until all sides are brown.  Do not overcrowd the pan.
4. Using the same pot, saute the onion, celery, carrots, lemon zest, garlic, bay leaves, and parsley.
5.  Once vegetables are cooked down, add veal back into the pot.  Pour in wine.  Let simmer for 20 minutes so the wine reduces by half.
6. Once reduced, add stock and tomatoes and stir.  Cover pot and place in preheated 375 degree oven for 1.5 hours.
7. Remove lid and let cook for another 30 minutes.

8. For the gremolata, mash the pine nuts, anchovy, and garlic together.  Fold this mixture in with the orange zest and parsley.  Scatter over the Osso Buco before serving.

9. Put the garlic and potatoes in a large pot and cover with cold water.  Add the salt, and bring to a boil.
10. Simmer until potatoes are cooked (about 30 minutes).
11. While that is going, warm the heavy cream and butter in a small pot over low heat.
12. Drain the potatoes and garlic well and put into large bowl.
13. Pour in warm cream and pulverize the potatoes.  Season with salt and pepper and sprinkle with chives before serving.

Review:
So far, this has been my least favorite recipe.  The food was good, but nothing stood out as being amazing.  As stated in the directions, I technically did not make Osso Buco because I bought the wrong meat, but it was the sauce that was a little weak.  Although it was similar to my Beouf Bourguignon sauce, the flavors were not equal.  The meat was tender and the veggies cooked just right.

The gremolata definitely stands out in flavor with the orange zest.  If you are not an anchovy fan, don't skip out on that ingredient because you can't even distinguish it from the other flavors.  The pine nuts do give a nice little crunch.

The garlic chive mashed potatoes were also not a standout dish.  The proportions for the liquid to the potatoes was not very good.  The potatoes became very runny, so I drained off some of the excess liquid.  It was interesting to boil the garlic with the potatoes.  I have found more luck roasting the garlic and adding it to the cooked potatoes though.  Plus, where was the cheese?  I have to admit I'm a cheesy potato girl.

In the end, if you are contemplating this dish with another dish I have created, I would recommend the Beouf Bourguignon first.  Nonetheless, I enjoyed the process and I can't say that the food was bad.