How to Make Osso Buco: A Rich Balkan Sunday Dish

Posted by Divna on

There are meals you cook because you’re hungry.
And then there are meals you cook because it’s Sunday.

The kind of Sunday where the house smells warm before noon. Where someone lifts the lid just to check. Where mashed potatoes are whipped slowly, and bread waits to soak up the sauce.

This is my Balkan-inspired version of Osso buco — but richer, deeper, and closer to the way we cook at home. Tomato, wine, soft vegetables melted into a sauce, and meat so tender it falls from the bone with almost no effort.

It’s not fancy food.
It’s family food.

And when it’s placed in the center of the table, everyone becomes quiet for a moment.

That first bite always says everything.

Ingredients

For the meat

  • 2 pieces veal shank (or beef or pork shank)
  • Salt, to taste
  • Black pepper, to taste
  • 40 ml oil (for browning)
  • Flour, as needed

For the Sunday sauce

  • 40 g butter
  • 40 ml oil
  • 1 medium to large onion, small dice
  • 1 medium carrot, small dice
  • 1 medium celery stalk, small dice
  • 3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
  • 1 tbsp tomato paste
  • 100 ml dry white wine
  • 500 ml tomato passata
  • 500 ml beef stock (or 1 beef cube + 500 ml hot water)
  • 2 bay leaves
  • ½ tsp dried thyme

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C).
  2. Season the shanks gently with salt and pepper. Dredge in flour and shake off excess.
  3. Heat oil in a heavy pan. Brown the meat slowly on all sides until deeply golden. This step builds the flavor — don’t rush it.
  4. Transfer the meat to a casserole dish.
  5. In the same pan, add butter and oil. Sauté onion, carrot, and celery with a pinch of salt and pepper, until soft and fragrant (about 7 minutes).
  6. Add garlic and cook briefly.
  7. Stir in tomato paste and let it darken slightly — this gives depth.
  8. Pour in white wine and let it simmer gently for 7–10 minutes, allowing the alcohol to cook off and the flavors to concentrate.
  9. Add passata, beef stock, bay leaves, and thyme. Stir and taste for seasoning.
  10. Pour the sauce over the meat. It should almost cover the shanks.
  11. Cover tightly and braise in the oven for 2 to 2½ hours, until the meat is fork-tender and nearly falling apart.

While it cooks, the kitchen fills with that unmistakable Sunday aroma — rich, warm, and comforting.

Serve with creamy mashed potatoes and fresh bread.

Serving Suggestions

  • Silky mashed potatoes
  • Creamy polenta
  • Fresh rustic bread
  • A simple green salad with vinegar

Storage Tips

  • Keeps well in the fridge for 3 days.
  • Tastes even better the next day.
  • Freeze up to 2 months.
  • Reheat slowly and gently.

Some meals are quick.
Some are convenient.

But this one is made for sitting down together.

This Balkan-style Osso Buco isn’t just about tender meat or rich sauce.
It’s about slowing down.
It’s about passing bread across the table.
It’s about Sunday.

And those are the recipes worth keeping.

Osso Buco na Balkanski način – Nedelja za stolom

Postoje jela koja se prave jer smo gladni.
A postoje jela koja se prave jer je nedelja.

Ona nedelja kada kuća miriše već pre podne. Kada neko podigne poklopac „samo da proveri“. Kada se pire krompir muti polako, a hleb čeka da upije sos.

Ovo je moja balkanska verzija Osso Buco jela — bogatija, punijeg ukusa, bliža našem načinu kuvanja. Paradajz, vino, povrće koje se istopi u sosu i meso toliko mekano da samo klizi sa kosti.

Nije to otmeno jelo.
To je porodično jelo.

I kada se stavi na sredinu stola, nastane tišina.
Jer prvi zalogaj govori sve.

Sastojci

Za meso:

  • 2 komada teleće kolenice (može i juneća ili svinjska)
  • So po ukusu
  • Biber po ukusu
  • 40 ml ulja za prženje
  • Brašno po potrebi

Za povrće i sos:

  • 40 g maslaca
  • 40 ml ulja
  • 1 srednji do veći crni luk, sitno seckan
  • 1 srednja šargarepa, sitno seckana
  • 1 stabljika celera, sitno seckana
  • 3 čena belog luka, sitno seckana
  • 1 kašika paradajz pirea
  • 100 ml suvog belog vina
  • 500 ml pasiranog paradajza
  • 500 ml goveđeg bujona (1 kocka + 500 ml vode)
  • 2 lovorova lista
  • ½ kašičice suve majčine dušice

Priprema

  1. Zagrejte rernu na 180°C.
  2. Meso posolite i pobiberite, uvaljajte u brašno i otresite višak.
  3. Ugrejte ulje i zapecite meso sa svih strana dok ne porumeni. Prebacite u vatrostalnu posudu.
  4. Na istoj masnoći dodajte maslac i ulje, pa propržite luk, šargarepu i celer 5–7 minuta.
  5. Dodajte beli luk i kratko propržite.
  6. Umiješajte paradajz pire i propržite minut.
  7. Nalijte belo vino i kuvajte 7–10 minuta.
  8. Dodajte paradajz, bujon, lovor i majčinu dušicu.
  9. Prelijte preko mesa, poklopite i pecite 2 do 2 i po sata dok meso ne omekša.

Poslužite uz pire krompir.

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