How to Slow Cook in the Oven – Ossobuco alla Milanese

September 2nd, 2015

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Do you have an oven? Do you want to cook something yummy and not have to worry about it too much? Why not slow cook in the oven!

According to my Nonna, the traditional Italian way of slow cooking is in the oven. She has never owned a slow-cooker and probably never will. She says that her Ossobuco recipe (below) is proof that an oven can do the job.

This Ossobuco recipe is a family favourite – it has been passed down from my great grandmother to my Nonna and now to me! The dish is a Milanese speciality and is traditionally served with risotto, however I prefer to serve it with vegetables.

Freestanding Falcon Dual Fuel Oven/Stove PROP90FXPDFSSCH

For this recipe I used the FXP Falcon Oven and stove top. This is a duel fuel oven that can be divided into two. Just slide in the metal divider and this way you can cook like a professional and save money on your energy bills.

As a side note, slow cookers are great and we have some here for you to look at, but if you want to cook the traditional Italian way, follow my Nonna’s advice and use an oven for this recipe:

Ossobuco alla Milanese

Ingredients:

• 5 x large pieces of Ossobuco (cross-cut veal shanks)
• Beef stock (enough to cover the Ossobuco, up to 1L)
• Plain flour
• 1 brown onion chopped
• 2 cloves garlic chopped
• 2 cups of button mushroom, sliced
• 1 tin of crushed tomatoes (410 grams)
• A couple of roma tomatoes cut in half for added taste
• Salt and pepper and coriander for seasoning
• Olive oil

Serve with:

• Mash Potato: 5-7 golden potatoes, butter and milk
• Corn: 2 large cobs
• 2 large handfuls of green beans

You will need:

An electric oven and a large cast iron casserole dish. I used Vue Cast Iron round casserole 26cm Red. Make sure the dish is oven-safe up to 200 degrees Celsius and suitable for your cooktop.

Method:

Preheat fan-forced oven: 150 degrees Celsius

Place the casserole dish on cooktop: heat olive oil and brown the onion, garlic and mushrooms. Remove from heat.

Cover the Ossobuco pieces in the plain flour, heat a generous amount of olive oil in a large frying pan and fry the Ossobuco.

You can fry the meat in your casserole dish, but you will need to remove the vegetables and may have to cook in batches as there is less room than the large frying pan.

Mix the meat and vegetables together in the casserole dish, cover in tinned tomatoes and beef stock. Optional: splash in some white or red wine, depending on your preference for taste.

Season with salt, pepper and coriander. Add the roma tomatoes.

Place the lid on the casserole dish and put in the oven on middle level/tray.

Cook for 3 hours.

Serve with mashed potato, corn and beans. Use the left over sauce as gravy.

Grazie e Buon Apetito!