Blanquette de veau is a delicious, classic French dish with a real difference.  I’ll admit though, I’d never really considered tackling it, because, at first look, it seems a bit complicated.  But I recently hosted a book club at my house to discuss the book  Five Quarters of the Orange by Joanne Harris, a rich, evocative story laced with memories of classic French food.  So of course, I had to plan a lavish French feast. For some reason, blanquette kept coming back to me as the perfect dish for this event.   I thought about and analyzed many recipes, and came up with a version that, though it involves a few steps, is not really all that difficult.  The biggest nod to simplicity I made was using frozen pearl onions.  Fresh pearl onions can absolutely be used, but they are a bit of a nuisance to peel in my opinion.

Unlike most stews, the meat in blanquette is not browned, but blanched to preserve its pale color.  The monochromatic palette and tangy crème fraiche sauce set this dish apart. The key to blanquette is a flavorful stock base.  I use homemade stock made with lots of fresh flavors, and I really recommend that you do too, though if you must, a boxed stock is okay.  Adding extra flavor to the cooking liquid is essential, and I love the addition of fennel and leek, which add a brightness to the stock.

So, plan an elegant spring dinner party.  Your guests will be impressed, and you can pretend that you’ve been slaving for days to make a French classic.  Traditionally this is served with rice, but I like it with steamed or roasted potatoes (the multi-colored small ones are pretty) and some glazed carrots.

Blanquette de Veau (Creamy Veal Stew)

4 pounds veal stew meat (or veal shoulder cut into cubes)

7 cups chicken stock

1 carrot

1 stalk celery

1 leek

1 fennel bulb

1 small onion

4 whole cloves

2 sprigs parsley

2 sprigs thyme

2 bay leaves

1 (12-ounce) package frozen pearl onions, thawed

3 Tablespoons butter

3 Tablespoons all-purpose flour

1 cup crème fraiche

Salt to taste

Chopped parsley to garnish

Fill a Dutch oven or oven safe casserole dish (I use a 5 quart enameled cast-iron pot) with water and bring to a boil.  Drop in the veal pieces and blanch for 4 minutes, until the outside of the veal is sealed but it is not cooked through.  Drain the meat in a colander and rinse it under cool water to remove any foam or scum.  Rinse the pot and wipe out any brown bits and return the meat to the pot and pour over the chicken stock. Tuck in the carrot, celery, leek, halved fennel bulb and onions, stuck with the cloves into the pot.  Tie the parsley, thyme and bay leaves together with a piece of twine and drop it in the pot.  Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat, cover the pot and simmer until the meat is tender, about 1 ½ hours.

When the meat is tender, place the colander over a bowl and drain the meat, reserving the cooking liquid.  Discard the vegetables and herbs. Wipe out the cooking pot removing any browned bits.  Pour 1/2 cup of the cooking liquid into the pot, add the pearl onions and cook over high heat until the liquid is almost totally evaporated, glazing the onions. Remove the onions to a small bowl and set aside.  Wipe out the pot again to remove any brown bits.  Pour in the remaining cooking liquid, bring to a boil and reduce to 2 cups.

Pour the reduced cooking liquid into a measuring jug and set aside.  Wipe the pot clean again, then melt the butter over medium heat.  Whisk in the flour, cooking until thickened and pale in color.  Whisk in the reserved cooking liquid and cook until smooth and thickened, about 10 minutes.  Stir in the crème fraiche and stir until heated through.  Salt to taste. Add the veal and onions and cook until the meat is heated through.

Serve immediately sprinkled with chopped parsley.

Serves 6

It may be politically incorrect, but I love veal.  It is my favorite meat.  If there is a veal dish on the menu (apart from sweetbreads), I will order it.  I have eaten a great veal swath across the globe. On a family vacation in Eastern Europe, I ate wiener schnitzel in Vienna every day, then moved on to veal paprikas at Gundel in Budapest.  I ate saltimbocca in Italy meal after meal, at a courtyard trattoria in Rome, at the restaurant at the Hasler Hotel overlooking the Spanish Steps, gazing out over the ocean at Le Sireneuse in Positano.  I ordered osso bucco in the fine European restaurant at the Taj Hotel in Bombay, scooping out the marrow with a tiny silver spoon.  I thank my brother for attending Tulane so I could relish grillades and grits at Commander’s Palace in New Orleans. In Boston, I fondly remember braised veal cheeks at Chez Henri.  My first vitello tonnato was served at Lupo in Cape Town. A there is a restaurant here in Memphis serves some veal selections, but I will always remember (and apparently I am the only one who does) a special of veal in a brie and calvados sauce.  I ordered veal bitterballen from room service in Amsterdam, then again at Schipol airport. I buy beautiful rosé veal escalopes in London at Borough Market to sauté in the tiny, ill-equipped kitchen of the rented flat.

Veal in Memphis is not always easy to track down, particularly anything beyond veal scallopine, as the thin slices are labeled.  Generally, I take a few of these home, lightly dust them with flour and quickly sauté them in butter with lemons, capers and some chopped herbs and eat them – all by myself – maybe with a little garlic fettuccine on the side. 

But once, I truly had a late night, awake in bed epiphany about how to combine veal and chestnuts, a favorite combination.  I grabbed a pen and paper and jotted down my ideas and the next day, it still made sense, and a very good meal.  See, I even dream in veal…

Crispy Chestnut Veal with Chestnut Wine Sauce

1 (7.4 – ounce) jar whole peeled chestnuts

1 cup flour

4 sprigs thyme

3 sprigs marjoram

salt

pepper

3/4 cup panko bread crumbs (or very coarse breadcrumbs)

6 veal scallops

1 egg

4 Tablespoons butter

1/4 cup olive oil

Place 1/4 cup of the flour in a zip top bag.  Put half of the jar of chestnuts in the bag and shake to coat (use the remaining chestnuts for the sauce, below).  Drop the coated chestnuts into the bowl of a food processor (I like the mini-sized here). Add the thyme leaves stripped from the stalk, the marjoram leaves, salt and pepper and the bread crumbs.  Pulse several times in quick bursts just until you have a coarse crumb mixture.  Don’t over mix or it will get pasty.   Turn the crumbs out onto a flat dish.

In another flat dish, beat the egg.  Add the rest of the flour to the zip top bag, drop in the veal and shake well to coat.  Remove the veal one piece at a time, making sure the whole scallop is coated, but shaking off excess.  Dip each piece in the egg, coating well but sweeping any thick parts off with your fingers.  Dip the veal in the breadcrumb mixture and press into both sides, coating well.  Place coated piece on a plate and continue with the remaining veal.  Place the veal in the fridge for at least half an hour, but you can leave for several hours.

Line a baking sheet with foil, then with a few layers of paper towel and set aside. When ready to cook the veal, heat 4 Tablespoons butter and 1/4 olive oil in a large skillet and heat over medium until hot but not smoking.  Sauté the veal a few pieces at a time, being sure not to overcrowd the pan.  Turn each piece at least once until brown and crispy on both sides.  Remove the prepared baking sheet.  When all the veal is cooked, place the pan in a 200 degree oven to keep warm for up to 20 minutes.

Serve with chestnut – wine sauce and sprinkled with chopped chestnuts

Chestnut-Wine Sauce

1 half of a (7.4 – ounce) jar of chestnuts

1 shallot

2 Tablespoons olive oil

1 Tablespoon butter

3-4 sprigs thyme

3 sprigs marjoram

2 Tablespoons Madeira wine or white vermouth

1/2 cup white wine

3/4 cup heavy cream

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter

Reserve 4 -5 chestnuts to chop and sprinkle over the cooked veal.  Place the rest in the food processor and puree, dribbling in a little water, until you have a smooth paste – sort of like baby food.  Set aside. 

Chop the shallot and add to butter and oil in a saucepan.  Sauté over medium heat until soft and translucent, but not browning.  Remove from the heat and add the Madeira, scraping up the bits from the bottom of the pan.  Return to the heat and cook until reduced and almost evaporated, making the shallots glazed and syrupy.  Add the wine, thyme and marjoram and reduce until just a few Tablespoons are left, stirring frequently.  Whisk in the cream and the chestnut puree.  Simmer until the mixture is reduced by one-third.  Strain the sauce into a dish, then wipe out the pan with a wad of paper towels to remove any solids. Pour the strained sauce back into the pan and whisk in the butter, a Tablespoon at a time, making sure each bit is thoroughly melted before adding another.

The sauce can be made up to an hour ahead and gently reheated over low, whisking to incorporate.

Serves 4- 6, depending on the size of the veal

Crispy Chestnut Veal is delicious served with Champagne Risotto