Veal Stew with Onions and Mushrooms : Blanquette de Veau à l'Ancienne : Lesson 9 : LCB at Home

This was very good. Very.

I've done this one before; in cooking school and out - - it's always a big hit. Flavourful. Not blindingly expensive. Can be made ahead. Freezes well. Reheats well. Great for transporting to a dinner someplace. It's pretty tasty cold too.

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Not the most colorful of of dishes but that's because of the "blanquette" part of the name; as with so many traditional french dishes this thing is supposed to be a variety of shades of white (trending to brown).

It was served with white sushi rice to soak up the sauce; that's essential.

I wrote about this before in "Veal Stew" and "Blanquette de Veau - 2" although I never gave a recipe or how-to. Therefore…


Blanquette de Veau à l'Ancienne : Veal Stew with Onions and Mushrooms

Serves: 8

Ingredients

  • 2 liters [2 quarts] water, cold
  • 2 carrots
  • 2 onions
  • 2 cloves
  • bouquet garnis (tossed in loose, not in a "bouquet"), be generous
  • 25 peppercorns

  • 2,25 kg [5#] boneless veal shoulder (considerably less once cleaned)

  • 1/4 C butter, plus a bit
  • 1/4 C flour

  • 250 gr [8 oz] pearl onions, white
  • 450 gr [1#] button mushrooms (really small ones if you can get 'em)
  • water
  • sugar
  • butter

  • 1 egg yolk
  • 1 T lemon juice
  • 1/2 C crème fraiche

Procedure

  1. Make what amounts to a vegetable broth with the water and... vegetables (and cloves and peppercorns)
    • Get it boiling then boil gently for 15 minutes - meanwhile
  2. Clean the big chunk o' veal of all tendons, connecting tissue, separating tissue, most of the silverskin, all membranes in general and the inedible bits. Cut into 3cm cubes [1 1/2"].
  3. Blanch the meat (meat into a pot, cover with water, bring to a bit of a simmer, turn it off)
    • Toss out the muck that comes to float on top of the water
    • Strain the meat; saving the liquid for possible use later

  4. Add the meat to the vegetable broth, simmer for 30 minutes
  5. Remove the meat (use, for example, a slotted spoon)
  6. Saving the cooking liquid, strain the vegetables (toss the veggies - they're done)

  7. Melt the butter in a large pan, add the flour (to make a roux) - whisking
    • Melt, bubble and dry this until it threatens to brown (2 or 3 minutes)
  8. Add the meat & vegetable broth that you just saved, slowly, whisking, into the roux; it will magically thicken up sort of
  9. Add the veal to the pot and cook, simmering, for another hour (until the veal is tender when poked with a sharp paring knife)
    • Add, if needed, liquid to just barely cover the veal pieces (use the liquid from blanching the meat - that you saved from way way earlier)
    • Season with some salt and (white) pepper

  10. Now for the vegetable garnish... Cut the mushrooms, if necessary, to be the size of the onions
  11. Each veggy into its own pan
  12. 3/4 cover with water (they ought not float)
  13. Add a tablespoon each of water and butter
  14. Bring to a boil, cover and simmer for 5 minutes
  15. Remove cover and boil vigorously until practically dry
  16. Then stir/toss while the pan goes dry and the vegetables glaze (the mushrooms will take a fair while)

  17. Everything can go on hold at this point; the vegetables and the meat

  18. To finish: Glazed vegetables into the meat-pot; simmer 5 minutes
  19. Check the seasoning
  20. Remove the meat and glazed vegetables (for serving)
  21. Reduce the cooked liquid to a saucy consistency
  22. Mix the egg yolk, lemon and crème fraiche
  23. Temper the mix with some of the liquid (add some of the hot sauce to the egg/cream mix)
  24. Pour the tempered mix back into the sauce - whisking
  25. Adjust seasoning (add salt, pepper)

Notes

  1. The short version will seem less complicated
    1. Clean, cube and blanch the veal
    2. Make a vegetable broth - 15 minutes
    3. Add the veal - 30 minutes; drain, reserve the meat and liquid
    4. Make a roux, add the cooking liquid, add the veal, simmer - 1 hour (until tender)
    5. Glaze some mushrooms and some pearl onions
    6. Add glazed veggies to the mix - 5 minutes
    7. Remove meat and vegetables from cooking liquid (to a serving plate)
    8. Reduce liquid
    9. Enrich with (tempered) egg yolk, lemon juice and crème fraiche

1 comment:

Shalee said...

Yum, yum, yum! I'll try this one out...