- 1.5-2 pounds veal or stew beef (1 1/2 inch cubes) or 3 veal shanks
- 1/2 cup AP flour, or enough to lightly dust the meat cubes
- 2-3 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 6-8 peeled small whole white onions (blanch them with their skins on for 1 to 2 minutes in boiling water. Drop in cold water just so they are not too hot to handle, then slip off the skins) or buy the frozen ones
- 1 large shallot, finely chopped
- 4 carrots, chopped
- 2 celery ribs, finely chopped and a nice small leafy piece to toss in the braise
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 2 cups white wine
- 1 cup chicken stock
- 5-6 San Marzano canned tomatoes hand squished
- 1 cup Kalamata or oil-cured pitted olives, halved
- 3 sprigs fresh thyme
- 3 sprigs of fresh parsley
- 1 small sprig of fresh rosemary, maybe a 2-inch piece for just a hint of flavor
You can tie the herb sprigs together, easier to fish out before serving
- 2-3 strips of orange zest (zest of 2 clementines)
- 2 strips of lemon zest
- 2 bay leaves
- salt & pepper
- 5 tablespoons parsley, finely chopped
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- 1 teaspoon lemon zest, grated, and a little orange zest
Preheat oven to 350°F
Heat the oil and butter in a dutch oven medium-high heat.
Pat meat dry with paper towels, season with salt & pepper, toss in flour, and shake off excess. Brown meat in batches. Set aside while preparing the rest of the ingredients.
Reduce heat to medium and add the small onions, saute for a couple of minutes and add the shallot, carrots, celery, and cook until soft ( the small onions will soften in the braise), add the garlic for the last 30-60 seconds. Season with salt and pepper, toss in the wine, and scrape brown bits while wine is slightly reducing then add the rest of the ingredients, bring to a slight boil and add the meat
Crumple a piece of parchment paper and cover the stew, gently press down to the top of the stew to lightly cover, place the lid on the pot and braise for about 1-1/2 hours, check the liquid level and add a little more wine and stock if necessary as I did, continue braising for another 1/2-3/4 hour
When done, remove bay leaf, parsley, rosemary, and thyme stems. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Mix gremolata ingredients together. Using a micro-plane to grate both garlic & lemon zest will give a nice fine texture.
Serve over pappardelle, rice, risotto, roasted garlic mashed potatoes, or rosemary skillet roasted potatoes.
Place a little gremolata in each bowl.
