A Lemon and Parsley Garnish: Gremolita

In this post, I was planning to focus on a well-known recipe for braised veal shanks called Osso Buco, mainly because of the lemony garnish that transforms this wintry Italian dish into something more spring-like. It turns out that Osso Buco, at least, as it is prepared by me, is much the same as any braised meat on the bone. By that I mean it's tasty, but a bit ponderous, and for my palate, too reminiscent of a meal that a caveman might have eaten. At any rate, I think that learning about gremolita is worthwhile since I suspect that it could add freshness to any number of meat dishes. I just finished adding the leftover gremolita to the top of a home-made pizza.

Ingredients:
Finely chop together these 3 ingredients....
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 1/2 cup minced flat-leaf parsley
- grated zest of 2 lemons


Oh what the heck, here's the recipe for Osso Buco from Patricia Well's cookbook, Trattoria.

Ingredients:
- 4 tablespoons butter
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 6 meaty veal shanks about 3 inches across
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1 medium onion minced
- 1 stalk of celery, minced
- 1 carrot, minced
- 3 to 4 cups of chicken stock
- 4 medium tomatoes, peeled, cored, seeded and chopped

In a large, deep and heavy skillet, brown the veal on all sides in the heated oil. After browning, remove the veal from the pot and transfer to a plate; add the onions, celery and carrot to the skillet. Cook until softened but not brown, about 5 minutes. Deglaze the bottom of the pot with 1/2 cup of stock, scraping up and incorporating any brown bits with a spatula. Return the veal to the skillet, then add the tomatoes along with enough stock to almost immerse the veal. Cover the pot and simmer gently for 1.5 hours or until the meat is almost falling off the bone, adding liquid as necessary to keep everything moist. Finely chop together the garlic, parsley and grated lemon zest to form the garnish that is famously called gremolita. Five minutes before serving, sprinkle some of the gremolita over the meat. Serve the veal with the sauce on warmed plates and garnish with the remaining gremolita.