DAILY DINNERS

Put the  chicken stock and 2 Osso Bucco in a pan with a thick bottom. Bring to the boil and simmer on very low heat for 2 or 3 hours to cook with the lid tightly shut until the meat releases easily from the bone. Check regularly that there is enough liquid in the pot and add some more water if necessary.

Take the meat off the heat and remove the meat from the pan. Pour the stock into a heatproof measuring cup and set aside. Let cool for about 15 minutes. Pull the meat from the bone and cut it into small pieces, taking off any fat or sinew. The smaller you cut the meat, the smoother and more even the ragout will be.

To make the roux: melt 75 grams of the butter in a pan and add the flour in one go. Stir over low heat until it begins to colour.  It is  important to cook the flour, because it adds flavour.

Slowly pour in the reserved stock and simmer on low heat, stirring, until you get a thick sauce. Remove from heat when the ragout is glossy. Add the cream and meat. Season with salt and pepper and sprinkle with chopped parsley.

In the meantime fry the mushrooms in 10g butter. Take out the mushrooms with a slotted spoon and add to the ragout. Check the seasoning. To intensify the flavour you can add a few drops of lemon juice or a tbsp of white wine.

Defrost the puff pastry. Preheat the oven to 200C/Fan 180C/ Gas 6. Lay the puff pastry slices on a large cutting board and cut 3  circles per person, using a bowl as a guide. Line a baking tray with parchment paper and put one circle per person on the tray (for 4 people that will be 4 circles). These will form the bottoms of the pastry case. Prick  holes in the bottom with a fork. Use a smaller cutter to cut smaller circles in the remaining cases, so that you are left with 8 circles of 1cm wide borders with smaller circles inside which will serve as tops. Reserve the tops and brush the edges of the 1cm borders with water. Put a border on each bottom circle. Brush the other borders with water and put them on top of the first edges. You will have double the amount of tops you need.You can sprinkle these with some parmesan and serve as savoury biscuits.

Separate the eggs and beat the egg yolk. Brush the edges of the vol-au-vent and the lids with the egg glaze and bake in the middle of the oven for about 15 minutes until risen and golden brown.Turn off the oven and open the oven door and let the trays dry for 15 minutes with the oven door open. Remove the trays from the oven and arrange the mixture in the cases. Chop the parsley and sprinkle over the top. Put a lid on each pastry case.