Preparation

For the Demi-glace: Bake the bones in the oven at 200 °C for 40 minutes. Cut the onions into large pieces and put also them also in the oven at the same temperature. Sauté the remaining vegetables in a pan with a thick bottom using the sunflower oil. Add the paste, pepper, bay leaves and thyme and continue sauteing. Deglaze with the sweet Mavrodafni.

Place the baked bones and the “caramelized parts” from the baking dish in a pot, add the sauteed vegetables and 6 liters of water and simmer for 5-6 hours. Discard the bones and vegetables and strain the broth using a sieve or very fine strainer.

For the chicken broth: Bake the chicken wings in the oven at 200 °C for half an hour. Transfer the baked wings to a pot, add the chopped vegetables and the rest of the ingredients and start boiling, constantly skimming the broth. Then simmer for about 1 hour. Discard the wings and strain the broth.

For the veal: In a hot pan with a little sunflower oil, saute the veal flatirons in all sides, until they get a nice color. In another pan, saute the vegetables until wilted. Add the bay leaves and pepper and deglaze with the wine. In a deep pan, place the vegetables and the meat and cover them with the demi-glace and the chicken stock. Cover with wet baking paper. Then cover the pan with aluminum foil very well so that the broth does not evaporate. Bake in the oven at 180 °C for 3.30 – 4 hours. Remove the veal from the pan and strain the broth, which will be placed in a saucepan. Simmer the broth until it reduced to about 1/3 and glased.

For the orzo pasta: Sauté the onion in a pan until it becomes tender. Add the orzo, garlic and thyme and stir constantly until the orzo is “shiny”, being careful not to burn it. Add chicken broth and lower the heat. Continue cooking by adding broth as needed and until the orzo is al-dente. Turn off the heat and add the butter and Arseniko of Naxos cheese, mix and leave for 3-4 minutes.

Finish: Serve the orzo pasta in a deep dish, place a portion of meat, pour plenty of veal sauce over the dish and sprinkle with chopped parsley and chives. If desired, add additional cheese.

 

Wine Suggestions

It is a rich red meat dish with acidity from the tomato and saltiness and fattiness from the cheese in the orzo pasta. It goes beautifully with elegant red wines with bright acidity such as the PDO Naoussa (ΠΟΠ Νάουσα) and PDO Amyndeon (ΠΟΠ Αμύνταιο) red wines made from Xinomavro grapes, the PGI red wines based on the Limniona grape variety but also with lively Syrah-based wines such as PGI Sterea Ellada (ΠΓΕ Στερεά Ελλάδα) or PGI Evia (ΠΓΕ Εύβοια).