Try this:
take a carrot and cut it lengthwise 4 times, then chop in to littled diced bits.
take two stalks of celery and do the same.
take an onion and dice.
take 4 garlic cloves and peel but don’t chop (leave them whole.)
take a decent sized veal shank and season with salt and pepper; then dredge in a bit of flour and shake off the excess (instructions: take a quarter cup of flour and put on a plate. Take the shank and just dab on the flour til it’s covered. You don’t want too much so just shake off the stuff that doesn’t need to be there.)
take two tb’s of olive oil, two tb’s of butter, and melt in an oven proof dutch oven (you know, one of those large pans that have a heavy bottom so stuff doesn’t burn to easily).
When you have it hot but not smoking, brown the veal shank on all sides. You can cook it at a medium temp so the flour doesn’t burn and it gets to a golden brown.
Once it’s golden brown, take it out of the pan and put on a plate to sit (high enough so your dog doesn’t get it).
ok, now take the carrots, celery and onions you chopped as well as the garlic cloves you peeled, and add them all to the pan you just used. Move them around a bit. Let them saute in the pan til they get a little brown. you want them to get a little brown so that they leave brown stuff on the bottom of your pan.
Now the house should start to smell good.
Take a half a cup of white wine and add to the pan, and move it around so the wine scrapes up the brown bits. So far so good?
Let that wine reduce til about a third of it remains. (it’ll happen faster than you think.)
Now, add two cups of veal or beef stock, and two cups of water. Add some rosemary sprigs (2 or 3) and at least 6 thyme sprigs. Mix the ingredients around til it starts to simmer.
Cover the pan and put it inside a 325 degree oven.
Here’s the fun part:
leave it there for 2.5 to 3 hours (depending on how much meat you used).
Seriously! 3 hours. Do some homework, or maybe hang out with your kids if you have em; surf the internet, or listen to my music while you clean your house.
3 hours. And then…you are going to freak.
*******3 hours later************
Something fun to try is to walk outside your house, get a quick breath of fresh air, and then go back inside…and breeeeeaaaaattttthhhhe in.
HA! WOW, what is that smell? Amazing huh? Yup, you did that.
Ok, the buzzer goes off (if you set a timer) and now it’s time for the final steps.
First take a different pan and boil some water for pasta.
Then, take the main pan out of the oven (remember the pan is REALLY hot so use oven mitts).
Using some tongs, remove the shank and put on a plate. Let cool a bit so you can use your hands to either dice the meat or just shred it. Frankly, it should be so fall off the bone tender that you won’t know what’s good for you; so I suggest you shred it with your fingers. Set aside.
Remove the rosemary and thyme sprigs and throw away. Take half the contents from the pan and put inside a blender and puree. The remaining half, strain and discard the solids (quick instruction: use a strainer and take whatever you strained, like the cooked up carrots, onions etc and throw away, leaving just the liquid to use in your final sauce)
Ok, now take this liquid and puree from the 1st half and put back in either a clean pan or the pan you just used as long as it’s empty. Kind looks like this thick soup huh? Add the shredded meat.
Oh man. Put the pan on medium low to reheat the contents.
Now, add to it the following: one clove of chopped garlic, one tbspoon of parsley, maybe a quarter cup of very tiny diced red bell pepper (optional), and the zest of a lemon (instructions aka (what’s that): take a lemon and, using a grater, just scrape off the yellow top part of the skin into the sauce. Zest can really help give lightness to a heavy sauce. Don’t ask me why, it just does! )
ALMOST THERE!
Remember that boiling water? Put some fettucine in it or some wide noodles and cook according to the instructions. Drain WELL.
Back to your main pan: just season to taste with salt, pepper, maybe some more thyme.
(And trust me on this: if any dish you ever cook tastes bland to you, it usually just needs more salt. It’s weird, but that’s the one thing that will fix it. just don’t over do it, cause it’s tough to unsalt a dish.)
Take your cooked pasta, place on your dish and spoon your sauce on to it, then eat.
Thank me later, 🙂
Chance
