NOTSO BUCCO

I love Osso Bucco, but sometimes I can’t find the right cut of veal for it. I know too that there are a lot of people who don’t eat veal for a lot of reasons. But that’s no reason to give up osso bucco! Here’s a version made with pork. I added a diced potato because I had one and it fit with the general feeling of the dish. This one cooks long and slow in the oven, so it’s perfect for a long lazy Saturday or Sunday. Because it doesn’t need a lot of last-minute fussing, it’s also perfect for a dinner party. Here I use a cut of pork called “spirling”. I think it’s roughly equivalent to sirloin chop. Basically, you want a cut that you can cook long and slow to make it fall apart.

Ingredients

1 T olive oil
1 leek, cleaned and roughly chopped
2-3 cloves garlic, chopped fine
2 carrots, cut into 1/2 inch dice
2 stalks celery, roughly chopped
1 potato, cut into 1/2 inch dice
4 pork sirloin chops
1/4 cup white wine or lemon juice or stock (to deglaze the pan)
I can chopped tomatoes
Salt, pepper

Preheat oven to 300F / 150C

In a large pan, heat half the olive oil and add garlic. Saute for a minute or two, then add the leek, carrots and celery. Sweat these till they’re soft, then remove to a large oven-safe dish. Add the potatoes to the dish and mix well. Heat the rest of the olive oil in the same pan, salt and pepper the pork chops and brown the them on both sides over medium-high heat. You don’t need flour for this, but you really want to get them seared, with those lovely brown bits on them. When they’re brown, put them on top of the vegetables in a single layer. De-glaze the pan with the wine or the wine or the lemon juice or stock, pour this over the meat. Pour the chopped tomatoes over it all and add 1/2 can water. Put it in a slow oven for 3 1/2 - 4 hours. Check it every hour and add liquid if necessary.


Serves four if the like it and ten if they don’t.