Pasta with Veal Shank Ragout
10 servings
60 minutes
A hearty pasta for long autumn and winter lunches. The base of its sauce is veal shank, also known as ossobuco, which needs to be stewed for 14 hours. The recipe is taken from the book by Mark Vetri "Cooking Pasta.
1
Preheat the oven to 95 degrees. Season the veal with salt and pepper, then coat it in flour, shaking off the excess.
- Meat osso buco: 2 kg
- Salt: to taste
- Ground black pepper: to taste
2
Heat oil in a thick-walled pot over medium heat. In batches, to avoid overcrowding the pot, add pieces of veal to the hot oil and fry, turning occasionally, until fully browned (8 to 10 minutes). Transfer the fried meat to a plate.
- Grape seed oil: 30 ml
- Meat osso buco: 2 kg
3
Reduce the heat to medium, add coarsely chopped onion, carrot, and celery to the same pot. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables brown and caramelize (5–7 minutes).
- Onion: 1 head
- Carrot: 2 pieces
- Celery stalk: 2 pieces
4
Return the fried meat to the pot and add enough water to reach about 2/3 of the height of the meat pieces. Cover with a lid and simmer in the oven until the meat easily separates from the bone (12 to 14 hours).
- Meat osso buco: 2 kg
5
Remove the casserole from the oven and let the stew cool a bit. Once it cools enough, remove the meat from the bones and discard the bones, fat, and cartilage. The shanks have a lot of tendons and cartilage that need to be carefully removed.
6
Cut the meat. Slightly chop the sauce formed from stewing in a food processor (the vegetables should be finely chopped but not pureed), then pour it into a large deep saucepan. If the sauce looks thin and watery, place the saucepan over high heat and reduce it to the consistency of tomato sauce. Return the meat to the stew, taste, and season with salt and pepper to taste.
- Meat osso buco: 2 kg
- Salt: to taste
- Ground black pepper: to taste
7
Bring salted water to a boil in a large pot. Add the pasta and cover the pot to quickly bring the water to a boil. Cook the pasta until it is soft but still slightly firm.
- Spaghetti: 500 g
8
Meanwhile, heat the stew in a large deep skillet over medium heat. Use tongs to remove the pasta from the water and transfer it to the stew. Reserve some of the pasta cooking water. Add butter, parsley, and 0.5 cup of pasta cooking water to the skillet and stir until the sauce reduces slightly, becomes creamy, and coats the pasta (1-2 minutes).
- Butter: 115 g
- Parsley: 8 g
- Salt: to taste
- Ground black pepper: to taste
9
Remove the saucepan from the heat and stir in half of the pecorino cheese and lemon zest. Continue mixing the pasta until it becomes one with the sauce. Taste, season with salt and pepper to your liking. Serve the pasta on warmed plates and sprinkle with the remaining pecorino cheese.
- Pecorino cheese: 110 g
- Lemon zest: 1.5 teaspoon
- Salt: to taste
- Ground black pepper: to taste