Osso Bucco for the Soul

Winter’s chill is settling in, and I find myself waking to dew on the windows, turning on the kettle, and warming my hands around a cup as I meditate…… I’ve really been loving these slow winter mornings. There’s a stillness to them that makes room for silence, reflection, and the wandering mind...

Winter is also for slow-cooked meals. I’ve been a little obsessed lately with making stews and soups. There’s something so comforting about the way the smell builds slowly through the day. The way the meat, chicken, or legumes gently simmer away. Knowing that by the end of the day, a warm bowl of something nourishing will be waiting for me… it’s joy!

The slow-cooked Osso Bucco recipe below is one of my favourite meals from the last two retreats I catered. It’s cooked with the classic trio of onion, carrot, and celery, and fragrant with rosemary, thyme, and bay leaf. It’s honestly such a treat. Serve it up with baked pumpkin, braised vinaigrette red cabbage, and sautéed broccolini with garlic and a squeeze of lemon-pure heaven! The meat and collagen melt away, the richness of the bone marrow pairs so beautifully with the sweetness of the pumpkin, the tang from the cabbage, and the crunch of the broccolini. The perfect winter meal!

Slow-cooked meat isn’t just rich in flavour and deeply comforting but slow cook helps release minerals and amino acids from the meat, making them easier for our body to absorb. It’s also full of collagen, supports immune health by strengthening connective tissues, including the gut lining, which acts as a barrier against harmful pathogens. It provides key amino acids like glycine and proline that help produce molecules essential for immune response and tissue repair. Warm, slow-cooked meals help ignite the digestive fire, support nutrient absorption, and are especially nourishing in the colder months when our bodies naturally crave softness and warmth.

Enjoy the recipe below!

SLOW COOKED OSSO BUCCO

Ingredients

4 pieces Osso Bucco (beef shanks) – around 1.2–1.5 kg total
2 tbsp olive oil or ghee
1 onion, finely diced
2 carrots, diced
2 stalks celery, diced
2–3 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
Zest of 1 lemon
2-3 sprigs fresh thyme or 1 tsp dried
1 tbsp fresh rosemary, finely chopped
½ tsp ground black pepper
2 bay leaves
1–1½ tsp sea salt or Himalayan salt, to taste
2 cups broth or filtered water (enough to cover about ¾ of the meat)
Juice of ½ lemon

Instructions

1. Sear the Beef Shanks

Pat the shanks dry and season with a good pinch of salt and pepper.
In a hot pan with olive oil or ghee, sear the shanks for 2–3 minutes per side until golden brown.
Transfer them to your slow cooker.

2. Sauté the Veggies

In the same pan, sauté the onion, carrot, celery, and garlic for 4–5 minutes until softened.
Add in the rosemary, thyme, lemon zest, and a teaspoon of salt and pepper.
Transfer everything into the slow cooker.

3. Add the Liquid

Pour in the water or broth so it cover 3/4 up the beef shanks.
Add the bay leaves and lemon juice.

4. Slow Cook

Cook on LOW for 7–8 hours or HIGH for 4-5 hours, until the beef is tender and pulls apart easily with a fork.

*If you don’t have a slow cooker, you can also slow-cook this in the oven. You can use either a Dutch oven or a stainless steel pot, both work beautifully.

Preheat the oven to 160°C. You can follow all the same steps from the recipe above, and the best part, you can sear the meat and sauté the veggies in the same pot to build all that flavour in one place.

Once you’ve added the seared meat and sautéed veggies into the pot with your herbs and broth, cover it with a lid (or foil if you don’t have one), and place it in the oven for about 3 hours, or until the meat is beautifully tender and falling apart.

5. Finish

Taste and adjust seasoning if needed.

To Serve

Pair it with: