Ossobuco con Farro "Carol"

        Ossobuco is, of course, a well known dish from Milan that doesn't need my help. The perfect accompaniment is Risotto Milanese, a wonderfully fragrant risotto made with Saffron. The flavors just magically work with each other. This doesn't happen as often as one would think, given the endless variations of food!

        A few months ago, my niece Carol suggested I try cooking with Farro. I had never used this ancient grain before. So I have been experimenting ever since. It occurred to me that perhaps adding Saffron to the cooking water would produce additional flavor and color. I was right! Then when I saw a couple of nice-looking veal shanks at my butcher, the idea was born to combine Ossobuco with Saffron-Farro.

        There are a few variations of Ossobuco, so I chose to make this a little lighter in flavor. I also thought I would name the dish for my beautiful niece, although a little hesitantly: you see, she eats very healthy food. This meal certainly doesn't fall into the "nuts and berries" category. I hope my cardiologist never reads this blog. But hey, Carol, if you eat carefully 90% of the time, you can certainly liven it up the remaining 10%!

        Ossobuco has one other ingredient. This is a Gremolata. Minced parsley, lemon zest and garlic are added to the dish when it is finished. This produces a bright flavor over the soft flavors of the Ossobuco itself. A wonderful final layer, don't omit this!!

        The cooking time for my Farro was based upon the package instructions. Follow your package's instructions.

        Now to the wine. Ossobuco actually uses white wine in its preparation. Whenever this happens, I like to use the same wine to drink with the meal. I have a case of Domaine Garnier Chablis(2010) in my wine cellar, and thought this would be a good "maiden voyage" for the wine. It really is supposed to wait until 2015, but I can't wait (the other 11 bottles can do the waiting). It's supposed to be a pretty fine example. The two brothers, Jérôme and Xavier have been producing some nice stuff. Of course I am writing this after I have drunk this wine and can report it is truly lovely. It has some body but is dry and has subtle flavors. It feels as though it will develop even further in the next few years. Now... can I keep my hands out of that case until then???

Domaine Garnier

Location (red dot)

        On to the meal. This doesn't take much doing. In keeping with the tradition of fine Italian cooking: have ingredients of excellent quality and don't overwhelm them with complex sauces. The shanks are going to braise for about two hours (until they are very tender), while the Farro takes less than half an hour to cook. Most of the preparation is basic, so from the time I started, it was 2½ hours or so until I was eating, and much of that time was devoted to working on the Times crossword.

Ingredients

Most of the Ingredients

   For the Farro

        ½     cup     Farro

        1½   cups   Water

        1      pinch  Saffron

        ¼     cup     Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese

        6      small   Mushrooms

        1      Tbs.    Butter

   For the Ossobuco 

        2      ½ lb.   Veal shanks

                           dusting flour

        1                 medium Onion, minced

        1                 medium Carrot, minced

        1                 Celery stalk, minced

        2      oz.      Ham, diced

        4      Tbs.    unsalted Butter

        14    oz.      the finest Plum Tomatoes, chopped

        ½     cup     dry White Wine 

                           salt and freshly ground pepper

   For the Gremolata 

        Zest of one Lemon

        One clove Garlic

        One cup Parsley

Method

Melt 4 Tbs. Butter in a heavy pan over low heat. Add the diced Ham and cook for about 2 minutes.

Ham added

Raise the heat a little. Dust Veal Shanks in a little flour and brown until golden, about 5 minutes per side.

Shanks added

While you are doing this, remove the ham (when it starts to color) and reserve. When the shanks are nicely browned, remove them.

Add the minced Onion, Celery and Carrots to the pan and stir them while they start to become transparent.

Veggies added

 Now add the half-cup of White Wine and deglaze the pan. Cook for 5 minutes, scraping the pan.

Deglazing with Wine

Then add the chopped Tomatoes and also the reserved Ham, mixing everything well.

Tomatoes added

Place the Veal on top of the vegetables and season with some salt and freshly ground pepper.

Cover and keep at the barest simmer for 2 hours, or until the Veal is very tender. Check from time to time, making sure there is enough liquid in the pan. If not, add a little water. You want the shanks to braise in a little liquid, but not a lot.

About half-way (1 hour)

While the Ossobuco simmers, prep the ingredients for the Gremolata and Farro.

Gremolata: Mince the Parsley with the Garlic. Grate in the zest of a lemon, mix together and reserve.

Farro: Clean the button Mushrooms. Grate about ¼ cup Cheese. Measure 1½ cups water into a small pan. add a pinch of Salt and a pinch of Saffron. Rinse the Farro and add it to the water.

About 20 minutes before the Veal is done, bring the Farro mixture to a boil and then reduce the heat and let it boil gently for about 15 - 20 minutes. Taste it toward the end. It should be plump but not too crunchy. While the Farro is cooking, heat a tablespoon of butter in a small pan and gently sauté the Mushrooms for about 10 minutes.

Farro and Mushrooms cooking

When the Farro is done, drain off the water and fold in the Mushrooms and Cheese. Toss this all together.

When the Veal is done, sprinkle the gremolata over the top of the shanks and mix a little into the sauce. Turn off the heat, cover and let sit for 5 - 10 minutes.

Gremolata added

To plate, I spread the Farro in the center of each plate and placed a Veal shank on top, adding a little sauce around the edges.

Usually this is served with a small fork for picking out the marrow of the bone to be eaten along with the gremolata. A wonderful treat!

New Year Rack of Lamb

     

      Two things I usually consider necessary for a meal on New Year's Day: 1) It be reasonably elegant and 2) It be relatively easy to make. No one wants to spend hours in the kitchen on the day after New Year's Eve! To accomplish these two sometimes warring requirements, it is always helpful to have planned ahead, freezer wise. Whenever I go through the hours required to create a Brown Sauce or it's slightly easier cousin, Sauce Espagnole, you can be sure there will be several small packages put away in my freezer for just such an occasion as this. If you don't have this rich sauce available, you could make do with a commercial beef or pork gravy, but be sure to sufficiently fix it up.

      The only do-ahead is to marinate your Lamb overnight. You can put this in the refrigerator before you go out and "make foolish," knowing that almost all the work for your New Year's meal is being done for you!

      Successful wines for this meal could be red (Merlot or Dolcetto) or white (Vouvray or a high quality Riesling). But it's New Year's, so I'm having Champagne. Prosit!

Ingredients:

      Marinade:

            Juice of 2 Oranges

            Small Onion, chopped

            2 Cloves Garlic, chopped

            Several sprigs of Fresh Mint

            1 Tbs. Salt

            1 Tbs. Rice Wine Vinegar

            ½ cup Olive Oil

     

      Meal:

            Small Rack of Lamb*

            3 small Red Potatoes

            3 small Mushrooms

            1 Tbs. minced Onion

            1 Avocado 

                 (my side dish, use whatever you want)

            Sauce Espagnole  (about one cup)

            Porto (from Portugal) ... to taste

            Fresh Savory

            Butter

            Olive Oil

            Salt & Pepper

* My package had two 8 rib racks, so I used them both. Leftover Lamb Chops in the refrigerator are never a bad thing!

Method:

1    Day before: Mix marinating ingredients together and pour over Lamb. Refrigerate overnight.

2    About one hour before cooking: Bring marinating meat to room temperature. Remove from marinade and dry with paper towels.

3    Quarter the Potatoes, toss in Olive Oil and Fresh Savory and let sit for about 15 minutes.

4    Preheat oven to 325F. (165C)

5    Heat a small amount of oil in an ovenproof pan on stove-top.

6    When you are ready to sear meat, put Potatoes in the oven, they will be ready in about 45 minutes.

7    Sear the Rack of Lamb (fat side down) until it is nicely charred, about 5 minutes. Because I had two racks, I did them separately.

8    Pour off any fat/oil and return rack to pan. Place a small strip of aluminum foil over bones so they do not blacken. Place pan in oven and cook for about 30 minutes until internal temperature reaches 145F (65C), no higher!!

9    Every 15 minutes, stir Potatoes.

10    While meat and potatoes roast in the oven, heat sauce and correct flavors by adding Porto, Butter and any Salt & Pepper that may be needed. When meat temperature nears 145F, sauté the Mushrooms and a little minced Onion in Butter, until just done.

11    When meat is to proper temperature, remove from oven and wrap in foil, keeping warm (stove surface should be fine) for 15 minutes.

12    Turn off oven. Drain any oil from Potatoes, sprinkle on Salt & Pepper, and return to oven until you are ready to plate. They will crisp up a little.

13    When Lamb has rested, slice into individual chops.

14    When you are ready to plate, mix Mushrooms and Potatoes and mound them in the center. Pour a little sauce over them. Cover mound with Lamb Chops and add a little sauce over these.   

Enjoy!

Baked Eggplant and Sausage

      This is the time of year when eggplants are plentiful and delicious! One thing I like to do is make meals that can be easily frozen and then enjoyed in the winter. Not everything works for that purpose, but this dish does. Even so, the ingredients here make a smallish casserole and could serve two with just a few "lunch" leftovers.

      We're just going to fry up some eggplant and make a casserole, lasagna style, with layers of hard cooked egg, fresh mozzarella and sausage slices. Add a little tomato sauce and top with freshly made balsamella sauce. Bake, then let sit for at least 15 minutes and serve plain or on cooked grain or rice. I used couscous today.

      A wide variety of wines would accompany this dish very well because it is mild and soft on the palate. You could use a full bodied wine to complement, or a soft and not too dry white to enhance it. I would initially think in the direction of a Brunello for the red or a Vouvray for the white. But not tonight!!

      I am not a great fan of West Coast Cabernets. They tend to be too full and big, with a cloying aftertaste that I just don't prefer. Maybe the grapes grow too well there. Grapes that grow where they shouldn't want to (like the side of a volcano) seem to produce wines that are more in my wheelhouse. But I realize that I'm probably in the minority here. So I purchased one of the 1878 cases produced of John Bookwalter's 2008 Foreshadow Washington State Cabernet, basically for the pleasure of visiting friends. The wine is just coming into its own and will only improve over the next several years. I have to admit, while this is a big ripe and round wine, it does not have the negative attributes I would expect from, say, a California Cabernet. Maybe the Columbia Valley, Yakima Valley and Red Mountain are more interesting places to grow. Also there is no Merlot in the blend! In fact (don't tell anyone) I sort of enjoy this wine with the proper food match. It is definitely a wine to accompany food.

Ingredients:

2             small Eggplants

most of the ingedients

3    links Italian Sausage (hot or mild)

1    HB   Egg

6    oz     Fresh Mozzarella Cheese

2    cups   Tomato Sauce

2             Eggs, beaten

¼   cup  Fresh Parsley, chopped

               Dusting Flour

               Olive Oil for frying

2    tsp    Sugar

1    tsp    Cinnamon

               Fresh Nutmeg to grate

               salt & pepper to taste

               Parmigiano-Reggiano Cheese to grate

2    cups   Balsamella Sauce:

Balsamella Sauce ingredients

⅓ cup     butter

4   Tbs     flour

2   cups   Warm Milk

1             Egg, well beaten

2   Tbs     Parmigiano Cheese, grated

½ tsp      Nutmeg, grated

Preparation (to be done earlier in the day, or the day before):

1    Hard boil one egg

2    Peel Eggplants and slice into ¼" slices. Place slices in a non-reactive colander and liberally salt each layer with coarse Kosher-type salt. Place a bowl under the colander and a weight on top. This will drain bitter juices from the Eggplant. Let this drain from about 2 hours to overnight. When finished, dispose of juices, rinse salt off Eggplants and squeeze them dry with a kitchen towel (or paper towels).

using marble mortar to press eggplant

3    Cook Sausage in a fry pan until nicely browned on outside, and just cooked on inside.

4    In a small bowl, mix sugar and cinnamon.

5    Grate about ½ cup Parmigiano cheese, divide it into two parts. One with about 2 Tbs. and the other all the rest (for the casserole), reserve.

Create Casserole:

1    Beat 2 Eggs in a shallow bowl. Mix in about 1 Tbs chopped parsley.

2    In a metal fry pan, heat oil to hot.

3    Sprinkle Dusting Powder on both sides of Eggplant slices.

preparing to fry eggplant

4    Dip Eggplant into beaten egg and fry, in batches, until golden on each side.

5    Remove to paper towels and sprinkle with cinnamon-sugar while they are very hot.

frying eggplant: note cinnamon-sugar

6    When all Eggplants are done, slice Sausages into ¼" slices.

7    Slice fresh Mozzarella as thinly as you can.

8    Slice HB Egg.

9    Assemble Casserole as you would a lasagna:

·      coat bottom with Tomato Sauce

·      layer about one-third the Eggplant

·      cover with a little Tomato Sauce

·      sprinkle on a little Parmigiano

·      layer all the Sausage

·      layer about half the remaining Eggplant

·      layer the Eggs

·      layer the Mozzarella slices

·      spread Tomato Sauce over this layer

·      sprinkle any left-over Parsley and any remaining Parmigiano

·      layer the rest of the Eggplant

 10  The final step is to pour the Balsamella Sauce over the Casserole, but you must make it fresh. So do so now:

·         beat one Egg in a small bowl

·         melt Butter in a 4 cup sauce pan

·         add Flour and cook gently, while stirring, for about 5 minutes

butter and flour

·         while stirring, warm Milk in microwave for a few minutes

·         gradually add Milk and stir over moderate heat until sauce bubbles and becomes silky

·         grate Nutmeg and add Parmigiano to sauce, mixing in

·         remove from heat

·         mix a tablespoon of sauce to the egg

·         then quickly whisk the egg mixture into the sauce

 11  Pour all the Balsamella Sauce over top layer of Eggplant making the Casserole well coated.

 12  Bake in a preheated 375F oven for 45 ─ 60 minutes, until top is golden.

finished baking

 13  Heat some Tomato Sauce to pour on finished dish.

 14  Remove from oven and let stand for at least 15 minutes before you serve.

Baked Eggplant over Couscous

   Enjoy!!