Osso Buco w/ Creamy Polenta

I love my slow cooker. I love that I can quickly chop some stuff up, throw it in the cooker and have a yummy meal at dinnertime. Most of the time, I'm all about the easy meals. Particularly these days, now that my days are so busy!

INGREDIENTS:
900g beef, diced* (I used pre-cut slow cooker beef from Woolworths, but any cheap cut will do!)
2 tbspn plain flour (I used GF flour)
1 red onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, crushed
3 carrots, sliced thickly
2 sticks celery, sliced
400g tin diced/crushed tomatoes
2/3 cup dry white wine
2 tspn Italian/mixed herbs
2 tbspn tomato paste
4 cups (1L) beef stock
1 cup polenta (also known as yellow cornmeal)
1/3 cup grated parmesan cheese
2 tbspn butter

*true osso buco uses veal, however I find it impossible to stomach eating baby calves, so use beef instead. Personal preference, really.

METHOD:
Place beef and flour in a bowl and toss to coat. Heat 1 tbspn olive oil in a large frying pan over med-high heat and cook beef for a few minutes, until browned.
Transfer beef to a plate and put onion, garlic, carrots and celery in pan, cooking for 3 minutes or until vegetables start to brown. Add herbs and cook for a further minute, until herbs are fragrant.
Add vegetables to slow cooker, along with beef, tomatoes, wine, paste and 1 cup of beef stock. Gently stir to combine, then cook on low for 6-7 hours - the longer, the better. 

To make polenta, allow 30-40 minutes, and do so right before serving, before the polenta 'sets' and is still lovely and creamy.
Bring 3 cups of beef stock and 1 cup of water to the boil over med-high heat. Add the polenta slowly, in a steady stream, gently whisking to ensure the polenta doesn't get lumpy. Reduce heat to low and continue whisking until the polenta has thickened slightly. Cover and cook for 30 minutes, stirring every ten minutes to ensure the sides and bottom do not stick to pan or dry out.
Turn off heat and stir in butter and cheese, then serve immediately.

Any leftover polenta can be spread on a flat surface to 'set', then cut into pieces and roasted/fried/grilled the next day to serve with leftover osso buco. :) 

**I got the polenta recipe from here and altered it to suit the meal.

Enjoy!

- L. x