Last weekend we visited my family in America and I was delighted to help my mom and grandmother cook up a Milanese classic, veal Osso Buco. A traditional Osso Buco consists of thick-cut, bone-in veal shanks that are braised for several hours in a white wine, tomato and herb sauce, and finished with a piquant gremolata topping.

“Osso Buco” translates in Italian to “bone’s hole,” – you can see how this dish got its name once the veal is cooked up to perfection and all of the marrow has seeped from the bones, thus creating a rich, decadent sauce, and, yes, leaving a “bone’s hole” in the center of the shanks. Because the veal is slow-cooked in this sauce, the meat becomes tender and succulent and falls easily off the bone.

This is a timeless and classic