The hearty Italian dish that has no right to be this delicious

The dish: Osso buco, Italy

Plate up Here’s a dish that, on face value at least, has no right to be so delicious. There is just zero textural balance to osso buco with risotto Milanese, nothing to break up the moosh of slow-cooked veal shanks and the equal moosh of risotto (or polenta) on the side. No crunch. Barely even any chew. And yet, and yet ... On a cold winter’s night, at a trattoria in northern Italy, a hefty glass of nebbiolo by your side, there are few things in this world more satisfying and delicious than a huge plate of osso buco.

Osso buco, a simple plate of greatness.Credit: Getty Images

Here’s the deal: a veal shank is cut across the bone so that each shank contains bone marrow (osso buco means “bone with a hole”), which breaks down and flavours the sauce as the shank is braised in a hearty stew of soffritto, tomatoes, stock, wine and herbs. After a long, slow cook, the melt-in-your-mouth shanks are served topped with gremolata – minced parsley with lemon zest and garlic – with Milanese-style risotto, flavoured simply with saffron. Life is good.

First serve If you’re served osso buco in southern Italy, you’ve gone to the wrong restaurant. This is very much a northern Italian dish, given its use of butter, tomatoes, and risotto or polenta, and is created in the south purely for tourists. To be more specific, the dish is from Lombardy, the region that takes in Lake Como, Bergamo and, of course, Milan. It’s thought to have been developed in the 19th century, though some believe it could go back to the 18th. Regardless, its popularity soon spread throughout the north of Italy, and into the world via mass migration.

Order there In Milan, visit one of the true classics, Trattoria Milanese, which has been serving osso buco with rich risotto Milanese since 1933 (no website).

Order here Keep things classic back home, too. In Sydney, head to Beppi’s – open since 1956 – for a hearty osso buco with polenta (beppis.com.au). In Melbourne, Tono On Borsari has been in business since 1989 (tonoonborsari.com.au).

Cook it Make it yourself using Jill Dupleix’s recipe on Good Food.

One more thing The original osso buco doesn’t contain tomatoes. Known now as osso buco in bianco, the veal is simmered in a simple broth of chicken stock and white wine, and served with vibrant gremolata.