Recipe: Blanquette de veau
When we acquired a barbecue, we couldn't wait to test it and invited friends over for a grilled feast.
But here in Spain, finding exactly what you are looking for at the meat counter is made tricky by a thick barrier language, and Ryan accidentally came home with 1,5kg (3 pounds) of VEAL.
He eventually went back to the meat counter to buy actual steaks, but we had to make use of the enormous quantity of veal now laying in our tiny boat fridge.
The only thing I know to cook with veal is a french dish called "blanquette de veau". After posting a few Instagram stories of the cooking process, a few of you asked for the recipe, so here it is!
Blanquette de veau
Preparation Time: 2 hours, for 4-6 people
Ingredients
- 1.5 kg veal shoulder (or steak ;)) cut into pieces of about 70 g
- 1 big onion, chopped in thick slices.
- 500 g fresh mushrooms
- the juice of 1 lemon
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 70 g (plus some for the actual cooking) of butter
- 1 egg yolk
- 70 g of flour
- 2 tablespoons creme fraîche (heavy cream)
- salt and pepper
For the broth:
- 1 big onion in which you stick 4 to 7 cloves
- 4 cloves of garlic
- 2 carrots
- 1 leek (the white part)
- 1 celery stalk
- 1 bouquet garni with thyme, rosemary, bay leaf, parsley. If "Bouquet garni" isn't a thing in your country, take a tea filter, put a chunk of thyme, rosemary, and 4-5 bay leaves. close with a piece of twine and tadaa! "Bouquet garni" ;)
- 1 cube of vegetable broth
- 2 tablespoons of sea salt.
Preparation instructions:
1- Place the meat in a pot of cold water and boil for 1 minute to poach the meat and get rid of its impurities and starch.
2- Drain the meat and place it in a large saucepan with 2 carrots, 1 large onion with 4-7 cloves, 4 garlic cloves, the white part of a lek cut (lengthwise) in 4 pieces, 1 celery stalk, 1 bouquet garni with thyme, rosemary, bay leaf, parsley, 1 vegetable cube broth and 2 tablespoons of sea salt. Cover with water and bring to a boil. Then reduce the heat and cook for about 50 minutes, skimming regularly.
3- In another saucepan, melt a good chunk of butter. Add the peeled onions (or your onion slices). Cook on low heat for 10 minutes until the onions are lightly browned. Add the mushrooms and cook 5 minutes. Add the lemon juice and a glass of water. Salt and keep warm.
4- When the meat is cooked (50 min!), keep it warm and collect the broth by passing through a strainer. Melt 70g butter over low heat and add the same amount of flour. Mix well until the butter is absorbed, it becomes brown and smells like biscuit (between 3 and 5 minutes). Add the broth in 3 or 4 times, whisking until the broth becomes a little thicker. Then add the heavy cream, then the egg yolk, and whip briskly. Add the mushrooms and onions mix, and rectify the seasoning if needed.
5- Add the meat to the sauce, et voila! Blanquette de veau :) I usually serve my blanquette de veau with rice or potatoes.