Osso bucco of pork

Osso bucco of pork

A wonderful, inexpensive and satisfying meal for the cold winter evenings. Osso bucco (Italian for 'bone with the hole') is usually made with veal shanks, but this variation uses pork, which needs to be cooked slowly until the meat falls off the bone.
Ingredients (serves 2)

• Four pieces of pork shank. Ask your butcher to cut these into slices an inch to two inches thick.
• Cornflour
• A white onion, chopped
• Two carrots, chopped
• A stick of celery, chopped
• Button mushrooms
• A pint of home-made chicken stock
• Thyme and oregano, fresh if possible
• Three cloves garlic
• A glass of red wine
• Olive oil

To serve, mix together:

• Grated zest of a lemon
• Flat leaf parsley, finely chopped
• One clove garlic, minced

Heat some olive oil in a large casserole dish. Season the pork shanks with salt and pepper, then coat them in cornflour and fry until golden. 

Add the onion, carrot, mushrooms and celery, reduce the heat and place a lid on. Once the vegetables have softened, add the stock, wine and herbs. Stir well, replace lid and reduce heat to the lowest point you can. Now you just need to find yourself a nice big chair, start a log fire and doze off* for a generous couple of hours, taking care to wake occasionally to stir the osso bucco. It will be cooked when the meat starts to loosen from the bones, and will taste even better if you can allow it to cool overnight. Make sure you reheat it for at least half an hour before serving.

Serve two pieces of pork shank, on the bone, per person, with a generous helping of the sauce and some freshly baked bread.  Garnish with the lemon, garlic and parsley mixture. Don't be too embarrassed to pick the bone up and suck out the delicious marrow afterwards – it's full of goodness and is the perfect way to do justice to this hearty, warming dish.


* At your own risk