Blanquette de veau

Instructions

1. 1

   Place the veal pieces in a large saucepan, cover with cold water (enough to cover by 2–3 cm) and bring gently to the point of simmering. Let it simmer for 5 minutes to blanch and draw out impurities, then drain and discard the water.

2. 2

   Rinse the blanched veal under cold water to remove any scum and drain well.

3. 3

   Return the veal to a clean large saucepan. Add the unsalted chicken stock, the brown onion studded with the whole cloves, carrot, fresh parsley stalks, fresh thyme sprigs, bay leaf and black peppercorns. Bring to a gentle simmer, skim any scum from the surface, then cover and simmer very gently until the veal is tender, about 75 minutes.

4. 4

   While the veal simmers, cook the pearl onions: place them in a small pan of lightly salted water, simmer for 5 minutes, drain, refresh under cold water and slip off their skins. Set aside.

5. 5

   Heat half the unsalted butter with the olive oil in a frying pan over a medium heat. Add the chestnut mushrooms and sauté until browned and any moisture has evaporated, 6–8 minutes. Transfer to a plate and keep warm.

6. 6

   In the same pan add a little more butter if needed and gently fry the peeled pearl onions until they have a light gold colour, 6–8 minutes. Keep warm with the mushrooms.

7. 7

   When the veal is tender, use a slotted spoon to transfer the meat to a warm dish and remove the large aromatics (brown onion, carrot, parsley stalks, thyme sprigs and bay leaf). Strain the cooking liquid through a fine sieve into a clean saucepan and discard the solids.

8. 8

   Make a roux: melt the remaining unsalted butter in the saucepan over a low heat, stir in the plain flour and cook for 1–2 minutes to remove the raw flour taste. Gradually whisk in the hot strained stock until smooth and glossy.

9. 9

   Bring the sauce to a gentle simmer and cook for 10 minutes to thicken and lose any starchy flavour. Adjust seasoning with salt if needed.

10. 10

    Temper the liaison: whisk the egg yolks with the double cream and lemon juice in a bowl. Stir a ladleful of the hot sauce into the yolk mixture to warm it, then slowly whisk the tempered mix back into the pan. Return the veal, mushrooms and pearl onions to the sauce and warm through gently for 3–5 minutes — do not let the sauce boil after adding the yolks.

11. 11

    Check seasoning, finish with the chopped fresh flatleaf parsley and a little cracked black pepper. Serve immediately with steamed rice, boiled potatoes or buttered new potatoes.

Tips

• Blanch the veal first and rinse — that keeps the sauce pale and clean-tasting. Don’t skip this if you want an authentic white blanquette.
• Keep the simmer gentle throughout: a vigorous boil will toughen the veal and cloud the sauce.
• When making the roux, add hot stock gradually and whisk well to avoid lumps; use a fine sieve if needed.
• Temper the egg yolks slowly with hot sauce before returning to the pan and never let it boil after adding them — this will scramble the yolks.
• Make ahead: you can cook the veal and strain the stock a day ahead. Reheat gently and finish with the liaison just before serving.

Substitutions

• veal shoulder → boneless chicken thighs, same quantity by weight

  Stays close

• veal shoulder → boneless lamb shoulder, same quantity by weight

  Noticeably different

• double cream → crème fraîche, same quantity

  Stays close

• plain flour → cornflour, 20 g dissolved in 30 ml cold water added at the end

  Noticeably different

Nutrition

Per serving · estimated

680

Calories

45 g

Protein

15 g

Carbs

59 g

Fat

2 g

Fibre

5 g

Sugar

600 mg

Sodium

FAQ