This dish is dedicated to my niece Teri who is a wonderful cook and really knows her wines. Golly, what a combination! The wine to be featured with this veal is a Petit Arvine from the Valle d'Aosta DOP, which if you notice on the map, is in Piedmont only a couple of miles from Switzerland. Petite Arvine is the name of the indigenous white grape and the wine is 100% that variety. the 2009 vintage is a well balanced and medium bodied wine that is both soft and strong. A delicious wine that I have been enjoying for several months now. (OMG I'm almost out: only 4 more bottles after this one!) A perfect accompaniment to fish or veal.
What we're going
to do is marinate the veal in a "damp rub" for several hours (or
overnight). We'll sauté ingredients in separate batches to allow each to
develop its own character. First, shallots, carrots and celery together, then
brown the veal, then brown the potatoes, then sauté the mushrooms, then deglaze
the pan with wine, then cook a few small tomatoes until they are totally broken
down. At this point we assemble the braising combination: stock, our sautéed vegetables,
on top of them the potatoes, on top of them the veal. Add a fresh herb (I used
rosemary) and braise slowly for 1½ hours adding some green beans and the
mushrooms after an hour. This is a little spicy but not super hot. If you
prefer no heat then skip the cayenne in the rub, or replace it with
black pepper. I'm sure this could be finished in a 325 F oven if you need the
stovetop.
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| Main Ingredients |
Ingredients:
"Damp Rub"
¼ tsp each of
salt, cinnamon, allspice; ⅛ tsp cayenne pepper, and the juice of half a lemon.
2 Veal Chops
1 small Carrot, fine dice
1 small Celery stalk, fine dice
1 Shallot, fine dice
6 small Mushrooms, quartered
1 clove Garlic, split
3 Tbs. Olive Oil
1 Tbs. Butter
Dusting
Flour
2 medium Potatoes, peeled and sliced ½"
thick
2 small Tomatoes, skinned and chopped very
small
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| Ingredients Prepped |
3 sprigs fresh Rosemary
½ cup White Wine
1 cup Chicken stock
about 10 Green
Beans, halved
salt &
pepper
For Sauce:
2 Tbs.
Butter
2 Tbs.
Flour
Method:
The night before: Mix dry rub ingredients, then add lemon juice to make a paste. Spread on both sides of veal and refrigerate.
1 In a casserole, sauté diced Shallots, Carrots and Celery in 2 Tbs. Olive Oil until everything has a little color. Remove vegetables and reserve, returning oil to pan.
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| Saute vegetables |
2 Blot the Veal with
a paper towel, then dust with flour. Brown on both sides until golden. Remove
Veal and reserve.
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| Brown Veal |
3 Add 1 Tbs. Butter
and 1 Tbs. Oil to what is in the pan. Now add Potatoes and brown on both sides.
Sprinkle on a little salt & pepper and toss around until coated. Remove
Potatoes and reserve.
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| Brown Potatoes |
4 Now add Mushrooms
and sauté until golden. Remove Mushrooms and reserve.
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| Saute Mushrooms |
5 Deglaze pan by
adding the wine and reducing to half, scraping until everything is suspended in
the liquid.
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| Deglaze pan |
6 Now add the Tomatoes
and sprinkle with a little salt, continuing to reduce until the Tomatoes have completely
broken down.
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| add Tomatoes |
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| Tomatoes broken down |
7 Add about a cup of the chicken stock and bring to a boil. Return vegetables (but not mushrooms), then place Potatoes in a single layer on top of them, and then place the Veal on the Potatoes. Add the garlic and cover the Veal with sprigs of Rosemary and a few grinds of pepper.
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| ready to simmer |
8 Lower heat and
place lid on pan. Let simmer for 1½ hours. After 1 hour, turn meat and sprinkle
in the Mushrooms and Green Beans. After 20 minutes, remove lid and let finish
uncovered. Throughout entire braising, be sure you have enough liquid to cover
potatoes but not any more (we're not making soup). Add more stock (or water) if
needed. However, it will probably not
need any additional liquid.
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| Add Beans and Mushrooms |
9 When finished, carefully
plate Veal, Potatoes, Mushrooms and Beans. Place plate in a "keep warm"
oven. Meanwhile, strain braising liquid. In a small saucepan, melt 2 Tbs.
Butter and add 2 Tbs. flour and stir continuously, making a roux. Cook this for
about 5 minutes, then beat in enough of the strained braising liquid to make a
sauce.
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| Make roux |
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| finish sauce |
Spoon sauce over veal and serve with a high quality white wine, such as Petite Arvine from Valle d'Aosta!! Enjoy! (Wine Glass chosen to honor Mickey's birthday next week - 11/18)
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| I guess we could work on the presentation! |
