Pork Osso Buco

Pork Osso Buco with Gremolata

2 pork shanks (about 1 pound per shank), trimmed
salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
flour, for dredging
1 tablespoon canola oil (plus extra, if needed)
1 tablespoon unsalted butter (plus extra, if needed)
1 onion, diced
1 carrot, diced
1 stalk celery, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1/2 tablespoon anchovy paste (or 4 anchovy fillets, minced)
1 cup dry white wine
2 to 3 cups chicken stock
2 sprigs Italian parsley
1 sprig fresh thyme (or 1 teaspoon dry)
2 small bay leaves (or 1 large)

For the gremolata:
1/4 cup minced Italian parsley leaves
1 tablespoon freshly grated lemon zest
1/2 tablespoon minced garlic
Kitchen twine, for tying the pork shanks or ask the butcher to do it

Preheat oven to 325ºF. Pat the pork shanks dry with paper towels. Truss each shank with kitchen twine around the outside (a single strand will do). Season each shank with salt and freshly ground pepper and dredge them in flour, shaking off excess.

Heat a Dutch oven or lidded ovenproof skillet large enough to hold shanks in a single layer over a medium-high flame. Add 1 tablespoon each of canola oil and butter to the pan, swirling to combine. Brown Brown Brown shanks on both sides, about 5 minutes for the first side and 3 to 4 for the second. Transfer browned shanks to plate.

Reduce heat to medium and add onion, carrot and celery to pan, also adding a little more oil and butter, if necessary. Sauté vegetables until beginning to soften, about 5 minutes, stirring frequently to avoid burning. Add garlic and cook until fragrant, about 45 seconds. Stir in tomato paste and cook for about 1 minute. Add wine and bring to a boil, scraping up any browned bits. Return shanks to pan, along with any accumulated juices. Add 2 cups of chicken stock; liquid should come about two-thirds of the way up the sides of the shanks (add a little more if needed). Tuck parsley and thyme sprigs around the shanks, along with the bay leaves.

Cover pan and place in oven for about 2 hours or until the meat is falling off the bone. Check every 30 minutes or so to see if you need to add more broth.

Meanwhile make the gremolata. Combine ingredient in a bowl and mix thoroughly. Set aside.

Carefully transfer the cooked shanks to a serving platter. Cut off the kitchen twine and discard. Discard the parsley, thyme and bay leaves. Spoon juices from the pot over and around shanks. Garnish with gremolata. Serve.

Ratatouille

Ingredients

3 tablespoons olive oil
1 clove of garlic, minced
2 shallots, diced
1 1/2 cups canned diced tomatoes (or fresh tomatoes, peeled)
3 tablespoons grated carrots
1/2 teaspoon marjoram
1 bay leaf
2 roasted red peppers, diced. Rinsed and patted dry if jarred
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 Roma tomatoes
1 zucchini
1 Chinese eggplant
1 yellow squash
1 clove minced garlic
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar
1/2 teaspoon of thyme
1/2 teaspoon oregano
salt and pepper

First you make a base sauce. In a skittle or cast iron pan add olive
oil, garlic and shallots over low-medium heat. Cook until soft, 7-9
minutes. Add tomatoes, carrots, marjoram, bay leaf. Simmer for 10
minutes. Lower heat and add peppers Cook just long enough to combine
the flavors. Remove from heat and discard bay leaf. In either the
skillet you cooked the sauce in, or a round/oval casserole dish (8-10
inches), evenly spread the sauce.

Using a mandolin or very sharp knife, slice tomatoes, squash, zucchini
and eggplant as thinly as possible. Less than 1/8 an inch if possible.

In you prepared sauce dish lay down a strip of overlapping or your
vegetables. Zucchini, eggplant, tomatoes then spring squash. Leaving
a bit of each layer exposed. This strip should start and end about an
inch from either end of the pan. Continue to layer in a spiral
formation around the center strip, slightly overlapping towards the
center. Keep going until either you have used all the vegetables, or
the pan is filled.

Cover with either the lid of the skillet, or a couple layers of foil
and bake at 300 for 1 hour and 30 minutes. Remove lid and return to
oven for another 10 minutes. This dish can be made a day ahead, so
either cover and store or broil for 10-15 minutes until it just starts
to brown. Serve from dish hot or cold.

Mediterranean Chicken

For the Marinade

3 Cloves of garlic - mixed with a little salt and smoothed to a paste.
1 Tsp. of cumin seeds - roughly ground
2 Tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil.
1 Teaspoon of sweet paprika - Pimenton.
1 Teaspoon of tomato puré.
1 Teaspoon of honey.
1 Lime - juice and grated zest.
1 Lemon - juice of.
Parsley to sprinkle.
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste.

Grilled Chicken

Combine all the Marinade ingredients and Mix well.
Turn the Chicken Breasts over two or three times in the marinade and leave to Marinate for at least Two Hours, Preferably overnight.
When you're ready to Cook - set your grill or bbq to high and put the Chicken breasts on - skin side down.
Cook for about ten minutes - until the skin is crisping up.
Turn them over and cook for a further ten minutes.
Turn down to low.
Place chicken on a shallow sided oven tray.
Pour on any remaining marinade over and return to the bbq or grill with the lid down for 10 - 15 minutes. Serve immediately.