Today's recipe is brought to us by Juana, author of La Cocina de Babel . It is a typical Italian recipe that many of you have heard of, the recipe for veal ossobuco alla milanese, or as a good Italian would say "Ossobuco alla milanese". If you like meat, you will love this recipe!

We barely started the year and who else and who least has among their purposes to take care of themselves. I think it's the time of year when you see more green recipes and in some way "degreasing" and I confess a secret, if I have learned anything in my forty-seven years of life it is that the best way to maintain a weight normal is not doing diets of any kind.

I am one of those who thinks that leading a more or less healthy lifestyle on a daily basis and eating a little of everything is what keeps us on track and happy. Because, being too good a couple of weeks a year and then being very bad the rest of the year, it doesn't help, do you think?

For that reason I am not going to give you a green recipe, but I am very “comfort”, very homely, simple and really tasty . Ossobuco Milanese is a classic of Italian cuisine.

Emile Henry ceramic cocotte and Seigaiha porcelain bowl

The recipe in question comes from Lombardy, specifically from its capital, Milan. Although throughout Italy you can find ossobuco recipes with different variations.

To prepare the ossobuco, the animal's morcillo is used, in this case the veal, which is cut into very thick slices, preserving its characteristic central bone .

Tradition dictates accompanying it with gremolata , which is nothing more than a mincemeat of parsley, garlic and lemon zest, which gives a touch of freshness to the dish. The rest of the ingredients are very basic and commonly used in almost any kitchen, which makes it an economical dish as well as delicious.

Do you sign up not to diet with me?

Ingredients (for four or five people)

• 1 and ½ kilos of veal ossobuco, four slices cut with a thickness of about 3 centimeters
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 small onion
• 50g of butter
• Flour
• 125ml of white wine
• Salt and pepper
• ½ liter of meat broth

For the gremolata:

• 20gr of parsley
• 1 or 2 cloves of garlic
• The rind of a lemon

T&G acacia wood chopping board

Preparation

1. On a cutting board , chop the onion very fine.
2. Lightly flour the osso bucos, season with salt and pepper and set aside.
3. In a deep frying pan , large enough to fit the ossobucos, heat the butter together with the oil and fry the onion over low heat until soft and transparent.
4. Add the osso bucos to the same pan and brown them very well on all sides. Once golden, add the wine and let it evaporate over low heat.
5. Preheat the oven to 170º and place the contents of the pan in our Emile Henry cocotte .
6. Cover with the meat broth, adjust the salt, cover the cocotte with its lid and bake for about two hours, checking from time to time so that the liquid does not evaporate.
7. Meanwhile, prepare the gremolata by finely chopping the parsley and garlic on a cutting board . Put both in a bowl and with a grater grate the lemon rind over the whole. Mix everything and reserve.
8. We will add the gremolata to the stew five minutes before removing it from the oven.

According to tradition, this dish should be accompanied by a risotto “a la milanese” or polenta; I did it with the first option and I assure you that it is a complete and delicious dish. Perfect to warm the body on cold days and smile.