Greetings, dear friends, in the kitchen! Today, we’re cooking two utterly different classic dishes that will whisk you from sunny Italy to the cozy bistros of Paris.
🛒 Ingredients:
👨🍳 Preparation:
Prepping the meat: Pat the shank pieces dry with paper towels. This is key for a good crust. Generously salt and pepper each piece on both sides.
Searing: Heat the olive oil in a deep, heavy pot or Dutch oven (cast iron is ideal) over medium heat. Add the meat and sear for 4–5 minutes per side until a dense golden-brown crust forms. Don’t overcrowd the pot — work in batches if needed. Transfer the meat to a plate.
Sautéing the veggies: In the same pot, reduce the heat to medium-low. Add the onion, carrots, and celery (soffritto). Cook, stirring occasionally, for 7–10 minutes until the onion softens and turns translucent. Add the garlic and cook for another minute until fragrant.
Deglazing: Pour in the white wine, increase the heat to medium, and scrape up the browned bits stuck to the bottom with a spatula. Let the wine reduce by half and the alcohol cook off — about 3–4 minutes.
Braising: Return the meat to the pot along with any accumulated juices. Add the crushed tomatoes, hot stock, bay leaf, and thyme. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to the lowest setting. Cover and simmer for 1.5–2 hours until the meat is fork-tender and nearly falling off the bone.
Serving: Carefully remove the ossobuco from the sauce. Discard the bay leaf and thyme sprig. Serve the meat topped with the aromatic vegetable sauce, sprinkled with a mix of finely chopped parsley, lemon zest, and orange zest (gremolata). The perfect side? Milanese risotto or creamy polenta.
💡 Fun fact: Traditional ossobuco is always cooked with the small bone in the center, which contains delicious marrow. True gourmets consider it a delicacy. The classic gremolata garnish — a mix of zest and parsley — was added to the recipe by a famous 20th-century chef to brighten the dish’s rich flavor.
Ingredients:
👨🍳 Preparation:
Caramelizing the onions: This is the most critical — and time-consuming — step. In a large, heavy pot or Dutch oven, melt the butter with the olive oil over medium heat. Add all the sliced onions and stir to coat in the fat. Reduce the heat to medium-low.
Sweating: Cook the onions, stirring occasionally, for 20–30 minutes. They should become very soft and shrink significantly in volume. Don’t let them brown too quickly.
Caramelization: Sprinkle the onions with sugar and a pinch of salt. The sugar will speed up caramelization. Continue cooking, stirring every 5 minutes, for another 30–40 minutes until the onions turn a deep golden-brown and develop a sweet, caramelized aroma.
Deglazing and building the soup: Pour the white wine into the pot with the onions. Increase the heat to medium and let the wine simmer for 4–5 minutes to cook off the alcohol and reduce slightly. Add the hot beef stock and thyme. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer, covered, for 30 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Prepping for baking: Preheat the oven to 200°C (grill/broil setting). Ladle the finished soup into oven-safe ceramic bowls or a large soup tureen.
Cheesy "lid": Place 1–2 thick slices of baguette on each bowl — toasted or untoasted, your call. Generously top the bread with grated Gruyère, covering the edges of the bowl completely.
Baking: Place the bowls on a baking sheet and transfer to the preheated oven for 5–10 minutes, until the cheese melts, bubbles, and develops a golden crust.
Serving: Carefully remove the bowls from the oven using potholders. Let the soup cool slightly — it’ll be piping hot. Serve immediately.
💡 Fun fact: Onion soup was a staple among the poor and market workers of Paris’s Les Halles in the 18th century, as onions were one of the most affordable ingredients. It gained worldwide fame thanks to King Louis XV, who — according to legend — whipped it up himself while hunting, using only onions, champagne, and butter he found in the pantry.