Osso Buco and Sauteed Beet Greens

Almost all the recipes I read for preparing Osso Buco followed the same trajectory.  I'm posting the one from Epicurious with a few adjustments.  The entire family loved this and I convinced Steve to eat the marrow (rich in monosaturated fats) with me straight out of the bone.  I loved it but you can't eat a ton of it.  Steve thought it tasted like foie gras, so it's all good in my book.  I served this with sauteed beet greens, thank you Hilah S. for the idea to use them a few years back.  Quite a few stands selling beets right now at the farmer's market. I got mine from Full Belly Farm last week at the Thursday market, roasted the beets earlier in the week and kept the greens in my Debbie Meyer Green Bags until I was ready to use them today.  They are wonderfully mild and the kids don't fight me when I tell them they have to finish their greens.

Osso Buco with Tomatoes, Olives, and Gremolata

Osso  Buco; about 3lbs total, each tied with kitchen string (Prather had some nice ones)
2 tablespoons olive oil
3 tablespoons butter
OR 4 tbsp. coconut oil
1 medium onion, halved lengthwise and thinly sliced
1 small carrot, finely chopped
1 celery rib, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
3/4 cup dry white wine
3/4 cup chicken broth
1 14oz can whole plum tomatoes with juice (not in purée), coarsely chopped
1 cup Kalamata or other brine-cured black olives, pitted and halved
1 1/2 teaspoons fresh thyme leaves
2 tsp. fresh flat-leaf parsley sprigs
1 Turkish or 1/2 California bay leaf
2 (2- by 1/2-inch) strips fresh lemon zest , cut crosswise into fine julienne
1 teaspoon salt, or to taste
1/2 teaspoon black pepper, or to taste

For gremolata (make sure you don't skip this, it really makes the dish!

3 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
1 large garlic clove, minced
1 teaspoon finely grated fresh lemon zest

Special equipment: a 7- to 9-quart heavy ovenproof pot (wide enough to hold shanks in 1 layer) OR you can do this in the crock pot no problem.  Set on low for 6 hrs.

Preheat oven to 325°F.

Pat shanks dry and season with salt and pepper. Heat oil and 2 tablespoons butter (or coconut oil) in ovenproof pot over moderately high heat until foam subsides, then brown shanks well in 2 batches if you have to, 10 to 12 minutes per batch, transferring to a plate.
 

Reduce heat to moderate and add remaining tablespoon butter (or olive oil if trying to omit dairy) to pot along with onions, carrot, celery, and garlic and cook, stirring, until onions are pale golden, about 5 minutes. Add remaining stew ingredients and bring to a boil, stirring. Arrange shanks in pot in 1 layer and return to a simmer. Cover pot and braise shanks in middle of oven until very tender, about 2 1/2 hours. Remove strings from osso buco and discard along with parsley sprigs and bay leaf.

Make gremolata and serve osso buco:
Stir together gremolata ingredients in a small bowl and sprinkle over osso buco. Serve immediately.

Sauteed Beet Greens

Wash beet greens thoroughly.  Chop into smallish pieces.  Saute in olive oil 1/2 onion, chopped, until soft.  Add the beet greens and some chopped garlic.  Continue to saute until greens have softened quite a bit.  About  a minute before ready to finish, squeeze half a lemon (some gorgeous Meyer lemons all over the place right now) over the greens, add salt and pepper and toss everything together.