Have your local butcher slice the veal shank for you. You’ll need a medium Dutch oven or a medium-sized, heavy-bottomed pot with a tight-fitting lid. Yield is 6 servings.
ingredients
directions
Preheat oven to 300 degrees F.
Season the veal shanks with salt and pepper.
Heat the olive oil in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat.
In batches, brown the veal shanks on all sides, about 10 minutes.
Remove from the pot.
Reduce the heat under the Dutch oven to medium.
Heat the butter and add the onion, carrot, and celery and cook until vegetables are lightly browned, about 8 minutes.
Add the chopped garlic and lemon peel.
Deglaze the pan with the red wine, simmering until the liquid is reduced by half.
Put the veal shanks on top of the vegetables.
Pour the stock over the shanks.
Add the thyme, basil, bay leaves, and parsley.
Season with salt and pepper.
Bring the liquid to a simmer, tightly cover, and place pot in oven.
Cook for about 1 1/3 hours, basting the veal every 20 minutes during cooking and turning the shanks halfway through the cooking time.
Add the tomatoes and their juice (only the juice from the chopped tomatoes but not the extra juice from the can).
Continue cooking until the shanks are fork tender and falling off the bone, about 30 minutes longer.
Uncover the pot and continue cooking until the liquid is reduced to a syrupy consistency, about 20 minutes longer.
Remove the shanks from the pot (carefully so they don’t fall apart).
Serve the veal shanks and cooking liquid on top of mashed potatoes, with the parsley sprinkled on top.