The other day my husband bought some excellent veal belly which he found in a corner at market .
Usually these kind of meats are uncommon or the asking their price.
I have to confess I wouldn’t know where to buy veal or other meats such as lamb, buffalo or even deer.
The later meat will not be available.
Game meats such as deer, bore, tortoise and frog are banned and protected under the wild life act in Goa.
Well, we are good people, follow the rules and have a common sense that those animals would be extinct if nobody would throw in some harsh rules!
How do you like cooking your Veal?
The first dish ever occurred to my mind when thinking of veal is… surprise surprise… the blanquette de veau (translated meaning “white veal”).
I’ve loved this dish since ever, even at the time when I had stopped eating other meats because of my distaste towards animal fats.
Yes, the blanquette is one of the most traditional, fashionable, easiest and flavorful dishes out there which anyone should miss.
It appears complex to the one who hasn’t cooked it before.
When you think about it, it is really simple to reconstruct the recipe for anybody
Even for those who haven’t cooked much in their life.
Finding love for cooking
Remember I had mentioned countless times before, how annoyed I was that I had to cook, it was work, purgatory and no fun to me in my past.
I blame the school kitchens which have that “grey metal” look.
At the point in time when I was a huge zero in cooking, I had learned to recreate this dish without much trouble.
A perfect blanquette de veau, in fact I don’t even think you have to actually learn anything.
It is just simplicity…you cut the meat, you throw it into a pot together with carrots etc, cover it with water and let it cook for a while on its own.
The stock that is made, it is used to make a sauce, which require a few more ingredients.
You need to impress your friends, family members or co worker?
Here we go with a classical french dish which won’t abandon you at a time when you expect it all to work well together.
You are too busy to cook up a fabulous meal?
I give you my blanquette de veau recipe as solution, as mentioned above, its one of the easiest dishes in this world.
Well, enjoy it and let me know how you liked it!
There are countless amazing blanquette recipes out there. Do you have a recipe which you would like to share with us? A different version, a fusioned creation, a globalized blanquette?
- 250 g Veal belly (or shoulder)
- ½ big Onion with 2 cloves stuck into the Onion
- 2 carrots
- 1 Tomato
- 60 g Celery root
- 1 Bay leave
- 2 Juniper berries
- pinch Salt & Pepper
- 1 bouquet garni (tied bundle of Leek and Thyme)
- ~4 cups Water
- 40 g Butter
- 40 g Flour
- 200 ml Bouillon
- 1 Yolk
- 2 Tbs cream
- Juice of a ½ Lemon
- Pinch Salt & Pepper
- Parsley to garnish
- First of all add all the ingredients mentioned above for the meat bouillon. That means the veal, veggies and herbs. Cover all the ingredients with the water and keep on a normal heat. Allow it to boil and directly take the heat down to a lower level so that the ingredients can simmer slowly for 1 hour. Skim off the fats in between while the content is cooking.
- After the meat and veggies are cooked, you prepare the roux sauce. Melt the butter in a pan and add the flour, stirring continuously on the heat, or it will burn on.
- Add the Bouillon from the meat pot and whisk it for 5 minutes on medium heat till a sauce gets formed. See that there are no bits in between. Keep aside.
- In a separate bowl mix together the Yolk, Cream, Lemon Juice, Salt and Pepper. Add the cream yolk mix to the already prepared bouillon sauce and whisk it well in over heat for 2-3 minutes.
- To serve, place the meat veggies on a plate, cover it all with the sauce and garnish with Parsley.
- Easy right?
