This tangy, tomato-based osso buco is the perfect centerpiece for your holiday dinner. 

This Italian dish has become an incredibly popular meal to serve, especially on special occasions. This modern version includes orange juice and apricots, adding a touch of sweetness to a classic recipe.

Getting the right cut of meat is important, so ensure to use veal shanks that are sliced in 2-inch pieces, with the bone marrow exposed. You can also substitute with beef shanks without drastically changing the flavour profile of the dish. No matter what, your osso buco will come out packed full of flavour. 

This dish works perfectly without any extras, but if you feel the need to make some side dishes to accompany the osso buco, you can opt to make mashed potatoes, polenta, rice or risotto. 

One of the best ways to make your osso buco is by slow cooking it in the thinkkitchen 14-Function Quickpot. This will allow the meat to soak up the juices and flavours rendering it tender and juicy. The various flavours of this osso buco are gentle, subtle, and smooth.

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Prep Time: 30 mins

Cook Time: 8 hrs 15 mins

Total Time: 8 hrs 45 mins

Serving: 6 people

What you will need:

• thinkkitchen 14-Function Quickpot
• Mixing bowls
• Frying pan

Ingredients:

• 6 veal shanks (osso buco), approx. 1 ½ inches thick
• 1 tsp salt
• ½ tsp ground black pepper
• ½ cup flour
• 4-5 tbsps extra virgin olive oil
• 4 large red onions, diced
• 4 carrots, diced
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 fennel bulb, diced, fronds chopped
• 2 tbsps tomato paste
• 2 cups dry white wine
• 1 quart chicken broth
• ½ freshly squeezed orange juice
• 2 tbsps chopped fresh sage
• 1 tbsp thyme leaves
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 cup dried or 6 fresh apricots, halved

Instructions:

1 – In a bowl, add the flour and mix with the salt and pepper. Coat each side of the shanks.

2 – Heat the olive oil over medium-high heat in a large frying pan. 

3 – Add coated shanks and sear until well browned on both sides, approx. 15 minutes. Temporarily transfer the veal to a platter. 

4 – Add another tbsp of oil, onions, carrots, celery, garlic, diced fennel bulb, ½ tsp of salt, and a generous pinch of pepper. Sauté over medium heat until onions are translucent and tender, approx. 7 minutes. Add tomato paste and sauté for 2 minutes longer.

5 – In a small bowl, stir together the white wine, broth, orange juice, sage, thyme, bay leaf, apricots, and 2 tbsps of fennel fronds. Pour mixture into the thinkkitchen quickpot and set to slow cooking.

6 – Add the mixture from the pan and the shanks to the quickpot. Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours or high for 3-4 hours. 

7 – Serve the osso buco and plenty of sauce over rice, couscous, polenta, or mashed potatoes.

Enjoy!

Instructions:

Place the flour and ½ tablespoon of sea salt into a large bowl, and make a well in the middle. Add the yeast and sugar to the lukewarm water, and mix with a fork. Leave this for a few minutes and when it starts to foam, slowly pour it into the well, mixing with a fork as you go.

As soon as all the ingredients come together, which may take a minute or so, knead vigorously for around 5 minutes until you have a smooth, springy, soft dough.

Lightly oil a large bowl with some olive oil and transfer the dough to the bowl. Dust with a little extra flour, cover with a tea towel and leave to proof in a warm place for 30 minutes until doubles in size.

While the dough is rising, preheat your oven to 220°C/425°F/gas 7 and prepare the toppings.

Chop the tomatoes into halves. Mix the parmesan and tomatoes into a bowl with the garlic, onions, olives and thyme and season with sea salt and black pepper, a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil, and a tiny splash of white wine vinegar. 

Spread the tomato garnish over the focaccia.

Leave to proof for a further 20 minutes, then bake for 20 minutes, until golden on top and soft in the middle.

Enjoy!

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#1: Homemade Happiness

Restaurants are buzzing on Valentine’s Day. This year, ditch the stuffy formal wear and crowds for something more relaxing, at your own pace. Spending quality time together is one of the best ways to say “I love you”. Tonight, trade-in your fancy clothes for an apron and get comfy – it’s time to get cooking! Cooking together is fun and interactive; the best part is that you get to eat the fruits of your labour (not actual fruits, we’re cooking something more challenging this time around).

On the menu tonight? Homemade pasta. Don’t be intimidated! It may sound ambitious but with the right tools, making pasta from scratch will seem easy-peasy-fusili! There are little variations everywhere, but the most standard way to make pasta dough is to mix eggs, all-purpose flour, olive oil and salt and then knead it with a stand mixer until the dough is smooth and elastic and ready to rest.

As your dough rests, it’s time to let your creativity do the work – ravioli or linguine? The ravioli route is the best way to go when you have a filling you’re dying to try! It could be a classic ricotta spinach filling or something with an umami punch. To ensure that your filling stays in and doesn’t spill out, it’s essential to get the right shape for your pasta. Here’s where you’ll thank yourself for having a ravioli maker and rolling pin handy! Your ravioli will come out with perfectly crimped edges and the mould is deep enough to hold a good amount of filling.

Not really feeling the fillings? Don’t worry!  Here is where you finally whip out that impressive pasta machine you got as a gift a year ago but kept on the counter untouched as “decoration”. Use the machine to make noodles, whichever way you prefer: tagliatelle, linguine, pappardelle, etc. As one of you is drying the pasta, the other can get started on the sauce – teamwork makes the dream work! Once you’ve served up your homemade pasta, take a moment to marvel at what you’ve made together!

What is dinner without dessert? It’s not Valentine’s Day without a bit of chocolate! Ditch the heart-shaped box of chocolates (get that on clearance the next day) and make your own little chocolate hearts instead. You just made homemade pasta, homemade chocolate is going to be a breeze!

One of the simplest and most foolproof recipes you can use for homemade chocolates is mixing melted coconut oil, raw cocoa powder, maple syrup and sea salt together. Once smooth and perfectly incorporated, pour your chocolate mix into the heart-shaped moulds you’ve been saving for Valentine’s Day and leave in the freezer for 10-15 minutes to let it set. When they’re ready, gently pop them out of their moulds and sprinkle with a bit of pink Himalayan sea salt and candied rose petals if you’re feeling extra fancy. Just like that, look at what you accomplished! Homemade pasta, made from scratch with chocolates to end on a sweet note. Sure, there might be flour everywhere, but as long as the drinks are flowing and you’re enjoying each other’s company, isn’t that what the spirit of Valentine’s Day is really about?

#2: Wine & Cheese

Valentine’s Day falls on a Friday this year. We can’t think of a better way to end the workweek than to unwind with someone you love over some good wine and cheese. Bring the 5-7 vibe home and make it romantic. The first thing is to ensure that wine, cheese and accoutrements are plentiful. The next step is really what brings it to life: the setup.

Here is where you absolutely forego the solo cups and upgrade your glassware. A good set of wine glasses is a staple in any home. Want to feel extra classy? Decant your wine. It makes a world of a difference and makes your Valentine’s Day wine and cheese setup look even more thoughtful. Also – pouring wine straight out of a decanter instead of the bottle really adds a Tuscan charm to your date.

While we’re confident in your wine guzzling abilities, this isn’t one of those kinds of nights. Take cheese breaks! We eat with our eyes and plating makes all the difference. We recommend going with a marble finish to ensure both durability and style but a wood tray is a timeless choice. A cheese board is naked without cheese – mix up a variety of textures and flavours when choosing cheeses, ranging from soft, firm, hard and blues if you dare. Break it up with accompaniments like semi-sweet or tart fruits for palate cleansers, and of course crackers and breads.

This Valentine’s date relies on the presentation as much as it does on the wine and cheese – make sure you’re well-equipped!

#3: Raclette Night

If you’re not spending Valentine’s Day in the Maldives (join the club), don’t stress about it. How about a private little indoor getaway? While February is mostly about being cold and wet, bring the warmth inside and pretend you’re in a cozy cabin getaway for Valentine’s Day.

Hot chocolate and mulled wines are never too far from reach at a cabin getaway – now you just need the right food to set the mood. If you live in a small space, you may not have the cupboard space to store a whole raclette and grill – but for a cozy cabin themed Valentine’s Date, we would recommend getting a mini raclette for 2. Just by the simple gesture of going out and getting one will make such a difference, your date will definitely be touched! Melt that ooey gooey raclette cheese onto delicious herby potatoes and use the grill to sizzle up some vegetables, meat and/or seafood to enjoy a hearty and warm meal together.

Just when you thought it couldn’t get any cozier – it does! As you may have gathered from our other Valentines ideas, we’re huge fans of chocolate. We couldn’t let you end your night without something sweet. Staying true to our cabin themed surprise, here is when we would have you bring out your pièce de resistance: chocolate fondue!

Let’s keep it real, a chocolate fondue set can be wonderful on its own for one person, but it is infinitely better when shared. As your chocolate is melting, cut up some fruits like strawberries and bananas to dip. We also like to add wafers and bite sized waffle pieces to our fondue – but we would probably eat anything if it was dipped in chocolate.

Cozy, casual and fun – this indoor cabin getaway date is sure to warm your heart, even on the coldest days.

#4: Breakfast In Bed

This Valentine’s Surprise may be one that is the most difficult. You may be wondering what could seem more difficult than making pasta from scratch…this date requires you waking up early – very early. Everyone loves breakfast in bed, no matter what day it is.

Being able to have coffee or mimosas in bed without ever getting up once is a real luxury that anyone would appreciate. Since this is Valentine’s Day, we’re going beyond basic breakfasts and taking it up a notch. We’re making waffles!  The hardest part is the batter since there are so many varying recipes these days – but once you feel like you’ve chosen the right one and you’re confident in your flour to egg ratio – it’s time to make the actual waffles. French toast has been done before and pancakes would have been too predictable, which is why we went with waffles as they seem way harder to make. The perfect honeycomb texture of a waffle may seem daunting, but nothing is impossible with the right waffle maker. Trust us, when you open up the waffle maker to reveal symmetrical, fluffy waffles – they will be sure to be the best surprise and start off Valentine’s morning on a syrupy sweet note.

These were 4 ways to do something out of the ordinary this Valentine’s Day. Let us know if you have other ideas for Valentine’s Day surprises. Enjoy!

• Baking Tray
• Knife
• Cutting Board
• Pot
• Pan
• Wood Spoon
• Stainless Steel Spoon
• Spatula
• Risotto Bowls

Directions: Preparation

Add vegetable stock to a pot and bring to it to a boil. In another pot, melt the butter and add the olive oil, shallots and thyme. Sweat it at medium heat for 8 minutes without coloring.

While you wait, chop the asparagus and mushrooms, and then set aside. After 8 minutes, add the rice and stir it well for one minute. Add the white wine and deglaze it, continue stirring until it almost reduces.

Slowly add the vegetable stock with a ladle and stir it until the water dissolves and the rice becomes translucent (aldente style), keep the leftover vegetable stock to add in later. Once dissolved and translucent, spread and lay out the rice on a baking tray to cool off.

Cooking

In a pot or pan, sauté the mushrooms with garlic, salt, and pepper. When the mushrooms are nicely colored, add the chopped asparagus and then the spinach.

Add the cooked risotto, from the baking tray, with 1 cup of vegetable stock and cream. Add Parmesan, salt and pepper and stir until the rice is creamy but firm. You can add more vegetable stock if you need based on taste.

Garnish with Parmesan cheese and micro flowers or greens.

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