Osso Buco alla Milanese

Braised veal shanks and saffron risotto

A man who has not been in Italy, is always conscious of an inferiority, from his not having seen what it is expected a man should see. - Samuel Johnson

I’m not here to share the history of this classic dish of Northern Italy, but I will say that by the early 20th century, and the tail end of the 19th, it was known in France. While it never found its way into a French cookbook, it did appear in magazine stories and recipe columns in a way that made it clear that the French were familiar with it, even if it had to sometimes be explained.

Milan is feverish. Italy's largest city, the peninsula's leading financial market and industrial center, is bustling with activity.... Ten times a day, he'll stroll past the Galerie's cafés and luxury stores... he'll sample a “risotto” (saffron-tinted rice), a “minestrone” (rice and pasta soup with all kinds of vegetables), a “busecca” (tripe soup), an “osso buco” (veal shank), gorgonzola, washed down with Piedmont, Veronese or Chianti wines. - Echo de l’Air: monthly bulletin of Air France, May 1951.