Blanquette de veau recipe

It’s common practise to prepare a hearty stew when one has the time to prepare a special meal for one’s loved ones. Using a slow cooker allows you to build complex flavour profiles, and the extended cooking time strengthens the bonds between the various flavours. French veal stew (blanquette de veau) is a creamy stew. Ragout made with white meat (such veal, lamb, or chicken) and cooked in a white stock flavoured with aromatics is called blanquette in French.

Blanquette de veau suggestions

Before adding water and cooking the veal, be sure to brown it in a saucepan. The white sauce is quite similar to a bechamel, but will thicken on its own as it boils. Brandy or white wine works well both as an ingredient in the sauce and as an accompaniment to the meal. Use veal, lamb, or chicken in this dish and serve with fresh bread and butter.

Are you and your family ready for a celebration of flavours? Indulge in the velvety smoothness and wonderful flavour of this Blanquette de veau veal stew.

Recipe by Gary Dunn

Course: Main

Cuisine: French

Difficulty: Easy

Servings: 4 servings

Prep time: 15 minutes

Cooking time: 1 hour 45 minutes

Total time: 2 hours

Ingredients

1g boned shoulder or knuckle of veal
2 onions, peeled and quartered
2 large carrots, sliced
3 bay leaves
1 tbsp. lemon juice
salt and pepper
200g button mushrooms
50g butter
50g flour
1 egg yolk
150ml cream
parsley, chopped

Method

Cut veal into 2.5cm pieces. Put in a pan, cover with cold water, bring to boiling point then strain veal into colander and rinse off scum.
Replace veal pieces in pan with onions, carrots,. bay leaves, lemon juice and plenty of salt and pepper. Add 2 pints water, bring to boiling, then cover and simmer for 90 minutes or until tender.
30 minutes before end of cooking time, add button mushrooms.
Melt butter in a small pan, blend in flour and cook over a low heat for 1 minute without letting it brown. Arrange the cooked veal and vegetables in a serving dish.
Reduce the cooking Iiquor to half by boiIing rapidIy.
Strain liquor into pan containing butter and flour. Stir sauce until it is smooth then bring to boiling point and simmer for 5 minutes.
Add more seasoning if necessary. Blend egg yolk and cream together, remove sauce from heat and stir in the egg mixture. Return the pan to heat and reheat mixture, but do not allow it even to simmer. Pour the sauce over the veal. Decorate with parsley.

Blanquette de veau suggestions