“Non tutte le ciambelle riescono col buco”
The above title literally translates to Not all doughnuts come out with a hole. The meaning of this phrase is that in life things do not always turn out as planned.
Something similar happened to me a few years ago. I had planned a trip to Belgium with my school time friends, but things didn’t work out and our decision of visiting the country dropped. I was getting lonely at home and needed some time off to go to any place where nobody knew me and mix with a different culture and give myself the much-needed break. My roommate was going to Rome. He works at a multinational company and he was being sent there for some training courses. So I decided to tag along with him. Although I didn’t follow him to Rome, I headed to northern Italy, in Lombardy. And this vacation changed my life and turned me into a connoisseur of European cuisines.
Italy is an amazing land with great food, great people, great scenery and great fashion, however much we try to replicate the Italians with their words or foods or fashion, they are still ahead of us.
Lombardy is one of the richest regions in all of Italy and the richest region in all of Europe. Milan is the capital city of Lombardy. Travelling here was a thrilling experience. I was staying in Milan and was busy shopping for myself all day long when I finally ended up at this restaurant pointed out by locals named, ‘Trattoria Milanese’.
The waiter spoke good English and recommended me to have ‘Osso buco alla Milanese’ and ‘risotto’. That day I was just in the mood to indulge in some local cuisine and I think this was the best of all.
It was ‘cibo delizioso’. This means ‘delicious food’. I know very little about Italian cuisine and all I had in my head was that Italy means tomato sauces and plates of pasta, pizzas and spaghetti. To my surprise, this is not at all the case.
Italian cuisine History
Italian cuisine has its roots stretched deep into roman ancient cuisines. Later over time, the use of modern ingredients found its place in the Italian culture. The north Italian cuisine reflects a mixture of Roman and German culture but the southern Italy dishes have Arabic influence in their dishes, this is because of invadement of Arabs into Sicily. The north Italy is known for its risottos.
Italian food uses a heavy amount of herbs and isn’t really heavy like Indian food due to the less usage of spices. Some people say that Italian meals tend to have a reverse crescendo, as the meal moves towards the end the dishes gets simpler.
Osso buco
Osso buco, which I was having means, “Bone with a hole”. It is the marrow hole in the centre of the cross-cut veal shank. The modern version of this dish, which I was having, has the usage of tomatoes but this was not used earlier and was flavoured with cinnamon, bay leaves and gremolata.
I was fortunate enough to get to talk with one of the waiters there, who became my best friend and tour guide for my rest of the days in Milan. He is a great cook himself and the next evening, he invited me to his place to have his very own style of Osso buco
To make this recipe he used:
- 2 pounds veal shank, cut into short lengths
- ¼ cups of all purpose flour
- ¼ cups of butter
- 3 cloves of garlic
- 1 large onion chopped
- 1 carrot chopped
- 2/3 cup, dry white wine
- 2/3 cup beef stock
- 1 can diced tomatoes
- Salt and pepper.
For Gremolata:
- ½ cup chopped fresh parsley
- 1 clove of garlic
- 2tsp lemon zest
Method:
- To cook Osso buco, he first dusted the Veal lightly with flour and then fried them until brown on both the sides in butter in a skillet. Then he removed them aside and fried the garlic and onions till they changed colours and then added into it the carrots, the white wine and Veal. The veal is tender in taste and the tastiest and juicy part of the dish is the marrow, the sauce prepared to flavour the veal is called ‘soffritto’. This he simmers the flame and cooks for about 10 minutes.
- After this, he added in the tomatoes, the beef stock and cooked for about an hour and a half. Then he mixed together the ingredients of gremolata and sprinkled over the dish just before serving.
- The dish is yummy and the Veal almost leaves the bone while eating. It has the flavours of succulent juices, the creaminess when having with risotto and the tanginess due to the tomatoes. This dish serves as the best accomplice on chilly November mornings in Milan followed by the Tiramisu.
Living in Italy is an experience on its own. The Italians have a wonderful way of life. They have a wonderful language which is so crisp that by the time we get to understand it by translating it into English; they’ve done with the topic of discussion and left the room. They are very friendly & joyful people and very welcoming to everyone.
Next times you visit Milan do not leave without having a plate full of risotto and Osso buco. Or reading the procedures to make this recipe you can try to make your own home a little Italy, either way, you’ll have the best of the time, I promise.