Recipe for cooking Osso Bucco slow tandoori style in a Tandoori (tandori)pot served with pasta shells

Here’s a great addition to the Italian section of your recipe book if you don’t already have it in there. It originates in northern Italy and the name literally means ‘bone with a hole’, because the shinbone has marrow down the middle which adds to the flavour as it is cooked. A friend of mine from Tuscany gave me this recipe, which had been his Grandmother’s recipe.

Don’t worry if you haven’t a tandoori pot any casserole dish will do. I like my old pot, because it is so well seasoned now after years of casseroles and curries that seasoning is hardly necessary at all with it.

The ingredients are;

2 Rose veal shin shanks on the bone.

6 shallots

1 carton or tin of tomatoes; or better still a carton of Napolina Passata, which is a creamy tomato sauce.

4 cloves of garlic

Italian style herbs, I’m lucky and have a great herb garden, so fresh herbs if you can, but otherwise you need; dried basil, rosemary, thyme, oregano, sage. Equal quantities or to suit your taste.

4 large mushrooms.

1 red and one green peppers.

1 carrot

1 stem of celery

Olive oil

White wine vinegar.

White Balsamic Vinegar

Salt.

Preparations

As with all dishes get all your ingredients ready and waiting, I have loads of little plastic bowls all lined up and ready for the off.

Finely chop the shallots and garlic and put them together and waiting.

If you are using fresh herbs chop them really fine stalks and all to add even more flavour.

Chop the mushrooms into cubes, slice the carrot and celery quite fine.

How to cook.

Add about a tablespoon of good quality olive oil to a frying pan on a medium heat. Add the shallots, chopped peppers and garlic and then gently fry until soft.

Push the mix to one side and leave a space for the meat. Turn the heat up a little and now add the meat turning it to make sure both sides are sealed and browned.

Preheat your oven to gas mark 5

Remove the meat and then add the tomatoes, celery, and carrots into the mix with a good pinch of sea salt followed by the chopped herbs. Stir well as you add the wine vinegar and then pour into your ovenproof dish or tandoori pot. Place the meat in the pot and then in.

Cook at GM5 for 30 minutes and then turn the oven down to GM2 for two to three hours. This long slow cook will make the meat so tender that it will drop from the bone.

Put the pasta shells into a pan of boiling water add a little olive oil and salt and boil until they are beginning to soften.

Serve the meat and gravy from your pot along with the pasta and add grated cheese, and perhaps a salad.