A unique take on the classic Australian meat pie, Curtis Stone shares his recipe for the veal shank and mushroom pies he plates up at LA restaurant Gwen.
“One of our more rustic but utterly comforting dishes, osso buco is braised in a rich flavourful broth with fresh porcini mushrooms, white wine, veal stock and thyme until the meat is nearly falling off the bone,” says Curtis Stone. “Bone and all, it’s then formed into a pie with the braising liquid and encased in a buttery pastry, with the bone forming the vent. To eat, scoop out the marrow from the bone and dig into the pie.” The pies can be assembled up to 2 weeks ahead and frozen in an airtight container. Don’t thaw; instead, add 10 minutes to the cooking time.
Ingredients
Osso buco filling
Buttery pastry dough
Method
Main
1.For osso buco filling, preheat oven to 140C. Season shanks to taste, lightly dust with flour and shake off excess. Heat oil in a wide casserole over medium-high heat, add shanks to pan and brown well all over (6-8 minutes), then set aside. Deglaze pan with wine, scraping base of pan, then add stock, mushrooms, shallot, garlic and thyme. Return osso buco to the casserole, season to taste, cover and braise in the oven, turning meat halfway through cooking, until> meat is fork tender (3-3½ hours). Cool osso buco in braising liquid, skim off fat that rises to top and discard thyme.
2.For buttery pastry dough, pulse flour, sugar and ½ tsp fine sea salt in a food processor to combine. Add butter and pulse just until butter forms pea-sized pieces (do not overprocess), then continue to pulse, adding 80ml iced water until clumps of dough form, adding more water 1 tbsp at a time if necessary. Transfer to a work surface, bring dough together and divide into 6 equal pieces and shape into discs. Wrap individually in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes to rest. Dough will keep refrigerated for a day, or frozen for a month.
3.Preheat oven to 200C. Divide braising liquid and mushrooms among six 4cm-deep, 13cmdiameter baking dishes. Remove string from shanks and place a shank in each dish.
4.Roll out each dough disc to a 16cm round on a floured work surface and cut a hole in the centre with a 5cm cutter. Lightly brush rims of dishes with eggwash, place a pastry round over each, with hole in dough over bone. Press pastry edges to seal and brush tops with eggwash. Place on a baking tray and bake until pastry is deep golden and filling is bubbling (30-35 minutes). Cool pies briefly on a wire rack, then serve.
Drink Suggestion: 2008 Proprietà Sperino Nebbiolo, Lessona, Piedmont – notes of bright red cherry, tobacco, rose and firm yet silky tannins help lift and complement this rich meat pie. Drink suggestion by Fahara Zamorano
