Make Casa Lever's Risotto alla Milanese con Ossobuco, Like Chef Mario Danieli

Risotto alla Milanese con Ossobuco

Casa Lever in the Lever House building opened about a year ago, a venture of the Sant Ambroeus restaurant group. There's modern art on the walls and traditional Milanese-inspired dishes on the menu. Executive chef Mario Danieli shares the recipe for one of his favorites: Risotto alla Milanese con Ossobuco.

"My passion for traditional Milanese food is truly revealed with this risotto," he says. "[It's] a dish that I could never live without."

Risotto alla Milanese con Ossobuco

Yield: 2

For the Risotto:

1/2 red onion, diced
7 ounces carnaroli rice
1/8 cup butter
1 cup dry white wine
1 quart vegetable broth
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 teaspoons grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 teaspoon saffron zest
salt and pepper, to taste

In a saucepan over low heat, heat the olive oil, and add the red onion. Cook the onion for about 2 minutes, then add the rice, with a pinch of salt and some pepper. Pour in the wine and cook until it evaporates, while stirring intermittently. Add the saffron zest and broth, and bring to a simmer. Continue stirring until rice has absorbed most of the broth. When rice is cooked, add the butter and Parmesan, and stir it until melted.

For the Ossobuco:

1 veal shank Ossobuco
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 red onion, diced
1 carrot, diced
2 stalks celery, diced
1 quart vegetable broth

In a saucepan over medium heat, heat up the olive oil, and add the onion, carrot, and celery. Cook for about 3 minutes, then transfer to a flameproof casserole pot along with the veal shank. Cover the shank halfway with vegetable broth. Cover the pot with aluminum foil and place it in an oven preheated to 325 degrees F for 1 1/2 hours. Once it's done, let the veal cool to room temperature for 3 hours. Remove the veal from the bone, and pull apart the meat into small pieces. Press them together in a rectangular shape about 1 inch high, and refrigerate for 24 hours.

Once cold, cut the veal into cubes of 1 inch by 1 inch. In a saucepan over medium heat, warm them with some butter. Next, scoop out the bone marrow from the bone. In a saucepan over medium heat, add the marrow to the juice from the cooking pan, and reduce until a saucy consistency is achieved. Plate the risotto with 1 cube of veal in the center of the plate. Finish the dish with a drizzle of warm veal sauce, and serve.

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