Osso Bucco

I simply have to record this recipe; twas so damn good. Quick - get cracking before you forget it.

Put 3 large beef shin into a casserole dish with a little oil and pan fry slowly turning regularly. The idea is to render the fat slowly and extract the impurities out from the meat. Could take 10-15mins.

I had about 1/2 cup capsicum liquid reserved in a baking dish after I'd baked six capsicum for an hour. Place the slow sauteed meat into the liquid and turn a couple of times.

Wipe the pan to get rid of any unwanted bits. In a little oil, sautee chunky slices of one large brown onion. Take six cloves garlic and halve. Toss in with nicely sauteed onion; cook for a couple of mins. Place in small bowl.

Put pan back onto a medium heat; add 1 1/2 cups Brown Brothers "Crouchen Riesling". Cook for a couple of mins. Take off heat. Arrange meat evenly in the pan; strain and pour over the liquid in which the meat had been resting. Add up to 1/2 cup more of water if needed.

Sparsely scatter some Vegeta seasoning into the liquid. Give a good douse of cracked black pepper all over. Put half the onion over the meat; arrange long pieces of leek, carrot, parsnip and celery to completely cover the meat. Scatter over the remaining cooked onion. Evenly toss over a handful of whole sweet Romano tomatoes. Tuck in a good sprig of fresh sage and a couple of parsley stalks with tops.  Add more pepper and a good throw of salt right over the top.

Cover dish and place in preheated oven 170degrees. Bake for one hour. Take out; check to see if veggies are par cooked and that there is enough liquid covering the meat but not up to the veggies. Add pieces of long chopped zucchini now if desired.  Return, cover and bake for another hour.

Take out again; remove lid; check to see if meat falls apart and is ready; if veggies look a little dull, brush over a tablespoon of olive oil, put back into oven, increase heat a little and bake till veggies look glossy and dish looks overall nice and brown.

Preferably turn off heat and leave in oven to help all the flavours meld a little before serving. Remove the sprig of sage and parsley stalks. Serve with creamy mash potatoes and crunchy ciabatta or sourdough baguette.

YUM!