Osso buco with saffron risotto and crispy sage leaves

I think it would be fair to say that saffron is the ‘King Midas’ of the spice world. It turns everything it touches golden and is one of my favourite store cupboard ingredients. In this recipe I’ve gone very Italian and combined the saffron risotto with slow braised osso buco, which has been flavoured with lemon, bay and garlic. This dish exudes love and comfort, it’s my husband’s favourite so this one is dedicated to him.

Serves: 2

Difficulty: Medium

Time: 2.5 hrs

Ingredients

For the osso buco

  • 2 rose veal osso buco
  • 1 white onion
  • 1 stick celery
  • 3 cloves garlic
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 400ml beef stock
  • 300ml dry white wine
  • 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
  • 40g butter
  • Plain flour for coating
  • 1 lemon (peel only)

For the saffron risotto

  • 750ml of chicken or veg stock
  • 10g saffron threads
  • 40g butter, plus 15g extra
  • 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 white onion
  • 250g arborio rice
  • 125ml dry white wine
  • 4 tbsps grated Parmesan cheese, plus extra to serve
  • Sea salt

For the crispy sage leaves

  • 6 sage leaves
  • 15g butter

Osso buco with saffron risotto and crispy sage leaves

I think it would be fair to say that saffron is the ‘King Midas’ of the spice world. It turns everything it touches golden and is one of my favourite store cupboard ingredients. In this recipe I’ve gone very Italian and combined the saffron risotto with slow braised osso buco, which has been flavoured with lemon, bay and garlic. This dish exudes love and comfort, it’s my husband’s favourite so this one is dedicated to him.

Method

For the osso buco

  1. In a deep frying pan, with a lid, heat the olive oil over a high heat.
  2. Dust the rose veal with seasoned flour and shake off any excess.
  3. Add the meat to the pan and brown on both sides (approx 2 mins each side). Remove from the pan and set aside.
  4. Reduce the heat to low and add the butter, the finely chopped onions and celery and cook gently until soft but not brown (about 10 mins). Add the finely chopped garlic for the last 5 minutes of cooking.
  5. Return the rose veal to the pan, with any meat juices that have collected. Next throw in the bay leaves, lemon peel and the wine and turn the heat up to high. You need to reduce the wine by about half, stirring occasionally so that nothing sticks to the bottom of the pan.
  6. While the wine is reducing add the stock to a small pan and heat. Once the wine has reduced add the hot stock and bring to a simmer.
  7. Pop a lid on the pan, reduce the heat to low and let it simmer slowly on the hob for 1.5 to 2 hours. You will know when it is ready when you can pull the meat easily off the bone.
  8. Once the rose veal has cooked remove from the pan, season and keep warm. Pour half of the sauce in to a blender (including all the onions, lemon peel, bay and garlic) and blitz. Pass through a sieve in to a clean pan and reduce by half over a high heat until the sauce has thickened. Season to taste.
  9. Keep everything warm until you are ready to plate.

For the saffron risotto

  1. Finely chop the onion and add to a large frying-pan or saucepan with the oil, butter and a generous pinch of salt. Cook on a low-medium heat for 10 mins until translucent.
  2. While the onions are cooking down prepare the stock. Add the stock to a pan with the saffron threads, warm on a low heat but don’t let it simmer.
  3. Once the onions have cooked down add the risotto rice and stir in to the buttery onions. The grains of rice will start to turn translucent at the sides quickly (approx 1 – 2 mins).
  4. Next add the wine to the pan. Stir in and let it reduce until most of the liquid has been absorbed.
  5. At this point you can start to add the stock. Take one ladle of your warm stock and add to the pan with the rice. You will need some patience but keep stirring the rice until the stock is almost absorbed. Then add your next ladle of stock and repeat the process.
  6. Keep adding the stock one ladle at a time, frequently stirring as you go. The frequent stirring dissolves the starch that is being rubbed out of the rice and absorbs it in to the stock. This produces the creamy texture you are looking for with a risotto.
  7. You will know when the risotto is ready when the stock is absorbed, the rice is plump but still retains a slight bite (you’re not looking for rice pudding) and everything is creamy and unctuous – the whole process should take about 25 mins.
  8. Remove the pan from the heat as soon as the rice is cooked. Add the remaining butter and the grated parmesan and mix in. Leave to stand for 2 mins and then serve immediately. Risotto does not keep well and tends to go grainy and dry if left to stand for too long.

For the crispy sage leaves

  1. Melt the butter in a small pan and add the sage leaves. Cook for approx. 4 mins, turning half way through, the butter will turn brown but this is what you are looking for. Drain the sage leaves on kitchen paper and set aside until ready to plate.

To plate

  1. See photo below. Start by placing a generous portion of risotto in the centre of your plate. Next take the rose veal and sit on top of the rice. Spoon some of the sauce over the top of the meat and drizzle around the plate. Finally finish with a grating of parmesan and the crispy sage leaves.

Osso bucco with risotto