Osso Buco with Roast Tomato Sugo

Recipe serves: 4
A Little Background Although not overly extravagant or involved to prepare, Osso Buco is, and always has been a real treat to make. Is it the joy from making that delicious sauce? A sauce so tasty that adding a piece of crusty bread and a bowl is all that is needed to make a meal. Or is it the almost maternal care used when keeping an eye on the whole thing in the oven? Or maybe it’s the taking of an otherwise tough piece of meat and turning it into something that is melt in your mouth tender? Whatever it may be that makes me enjoy preparing Osso Buco so much, I am certain of at least one thing; making it is a distant second to the pleasure I get from eating it. All I need is one glass of cabernet, one crusty baguette (to spread the magnificent marrow on) and I am immediately transported far away from any winter blues. I hope you enjoy making this and eating this as much as I do. What you'll need 16 vine ripened tomatoes 1 carrot (chopped) 1 celery stalk (chopped) 3 cloves of garlic (peeled) 10 French eschalots (shallots in UK & N America) (peeled) 2 sprigs of rosemary 8 Pieces of veal shank (Osso Buco cut). They should range from between 100-250 grams per piece. 3 bay leaves 1 cup of red wine 2 cups of veal stock, beef stock may be used 2 tbsps tomato paste Plain flour Salt Black pepper corn mill Butter Olive oil
What to do Preheat oven to 200 degrees (400 fahrenheit). In a roasting tray (large enough to eventually accommodate all the shanks in one layer) place the eschalots, carrot, and celery and toss with a little oil and place in oven. After 10 minutes, toss the garlic and rosemary with a little oil and add them to the tray, roast for a further 10 minutes or until everything is caramelized and soft. Meanwhile cut the tomatoes in half and lay them face down in a lightly oiled roasting tray. Place in oven and roast for 20 minutes. Once the vegetables in the first tray are nicely caramelized, transfer them to a food processor. In a large bowl or dish add some salt and pepper to a couple cups of flour. Flour all the shank pieces in this bowl and shake off the excess. Place a non stick pan over high heat and add a couple tbsps of butter and a couple tbsps of oil. Brown the floured shanks in this pan and transfer them to the empty tray you used for the vegetables. Once the tomatoes have finished cooking and have blistered nicely, remove them from the oven and allow them to cool slightly. Reduce the oven to 160 degrees (320 fahrenheit). Carefully pinch the skins off the tomatoes and discard. Process the vegetables in the processor until smooth and remove. Process the tomatoes in the same processor. Place a medium to large heavy based pot on high heat and sauté off the processed vegetables until they start to stick. Add the wine, stir well and reduce slightly. Add the tomato paste, the processed tomatoes and the veal or beef stock. Mix well. Pour the sauce from the pot over the shanks, add the bay leaves and cover the shank tray with foil, bake in the oven for 1 hr. Turn the shanks and bake another 1 hr, (should be very tender by now, if not keep cooking and check every 15-20 minutes until the meat almost falls off the bone). Remove the bay leaves when serving.