This week, I’m embracing full-on winter comfort food inspired by the north of Italy. This is a region famed for rice, grains and some of the world’s finest ingredients. Think parmesan, Prosciutto di Parma, white alba truffles, Piedmont hazelnuts. When you have building blocks such as these, it’s no wonder this cuisine is some of the most revered in the world.
The first dish is one of cuisine’s classics, originating in Lombardy, home of Milan. Ossobuco alla Milanese involves slowly cooking cross-sections of veal or beef shanks in a tomato-based stock until tender. This is then served on a bed of risotto flavoured with beef stock, saffron and a heap of parmesan cheese. Traditionally, gremolata is served alongside – a green dressing made using spicy olive oil, lemon juice and a selection of herbs. Other variants include cheesy polenta, and some recipes call for braising the shanks in a white sauce scented with cinnamon and bay leaf.
From a cooking point of view, keep an eye on the process for the risotto. It only take a couple of minutes to cook, the key being the high heat it’s cooked over. This allows the rice to cook while the stock reduces and concentrates in flavour. Each individual grain of rice should maintain its structure, with the stock, starch from the rice and cheese emulsifying into a cream-like coating that is packed with flavour. The prized part of this dish is the melted bone marrow that sits within the bone and melts into the risotto as you eat it.
I have been fortunate enough to spend lots of time in Milan over the years, and no trip is complete without a dinner at Ratana, serving some of the finest, traditional Milanese cuisine in a period home in the city centre. Stop for a drink on the patio before dinner and watch the city go by. The ossobuco is the best I’ve had.
READ MORE
The second dish uses another Italian staple. Polenta is a type of cornmeal and a great sponge for flavour. Once cooked out, it has the look and feel of mashed potato. I cook it out very slowly in milk and water, stirring regularly, before finishing it with a large amount of parmesan and butter. This is the perfect vessel for housing a big lump of sticky, saucy braised beef cheek, cooked down for a few hours in beef stock, red wine and treacle.
A few spoonfuls of this combination and you’ll be ready to curl up on the couch and drift off for the evening. Happy and fulfilled I might add. Isn’t that the whole point?
