Mastering the Art of French Cooking, Volume 2 (92 page)

VARIATIONS

Côtes de Veau Gratinées au Fromage

[Braised Veal Chops or Steaks Gratinéed with Cheese]

This is a delicious variation with cheese.

Brown and braise the veal, Steps 1 and 2 in the preceding Master Recipe, and make the sauce, Step 3. Shortly before serving them, gratiné as follows:

¾ cup lightly pressed down, coarsely grated Swiss cheese

¼ cup dry white wine, or dry white French vermouth

Preheat broiler to moderately hot. Arrange the braised veal in a shallow baking dish, if not already in one, and spread the cheese over the meat. Sprinkle the wine or vermouth on top, and set under broiler for several minutes, until cheese has melted and browned nicely. Arrange the chops on their platter, pour the sauce around them, and serve.

Côtes de Veau Braisées aux Champignons

[Veal Chops or Steaks Braised with Mushrooms and Cream]

Mushrooms and veal, like mushrooms and chicken, always go well together and one reason undoubtedly is that the natural
MSG
in the mushrooms points up the delicate flavor of the meat.

Brown and braise the veal, Steps 1 and 2 in the
Master Recipe
, but about 10 minutes before veal is done add the mushrooms as follows:

2 cups (¼ lb.) fresh mushrooms

2 Tb butter in a medium (10-inch) frying pan

Salt and pepper

Trim, wash, and dry the mushrooms; slice or quarter them. Heat butter to foaming, add mushrooms, and sauté, tossing and turning for 2 to 3 minutes; season lightly and set aside. (A short sauté in butter gives them added flavor.) When you estimate the veal has around 10 minutes more in the oven, add the mushrooms, basting them with the juices in the casserole.

Sauce and serving

½ to ⅔ cup
crème fraîche
or heavy cream

Salt and pepper

Drops of lemon juice

2 to 3 Tb soft butter

2 to 3 Tb minced, fresh parsley, parsley sprigs, or whatever vegetable you may have chosen

When done, remove veal to hot platter; cover and keep warm. Set mushrooms aside on a plate. Skim
surface fat off cooking juices and boil liquid down, if necessary, until almost syrupy. Add the cream and boil down again rapidly until sauce is lightly thickened. Return mushrooms to sauce and simmer a moment. Correct seasoning, adding drops of lemon juice as needed. Remove from heat, swish in enrichment butter, then pour sauce and mushrooms over veal, decorate with parsley or vegetables, and serve.

(*)
AHEAD-OF-TIME NOTE
: If you are not to serve immediately, complete sauce, except for enrichment butter; return veal to pan and baste with sauce and mushrooms. Cover and keep warm (110–20 degrees). Thin out sauce before serving, if necessary, with more cream or stock; swish in enrichment butter, basting meat with sauce until butter is absorbed.

Côtes de Veau Champvallon, Gratinées

[Veal Chops or Steaks Braised with Potatoes]

This is almost a meal in a dish, and needs only a fresh green accompaniment like broccoli, peas, beans, or spinach; or you may prefer a combination salad in a separate course. Here the potatoes, cooking with the veal and their juices, absorb marvelous flavor, and the cheese and bread-crumb topping at the end not only thickens the cooking juices but also makes attractive serving. Although the general method is almost the same as the Master Recipe, we give a shortened full account because of slight differences.

NOTE
: Here you must trim the meat in some way so that it will all fit in one layer in a casserole or baking dish; see Step 2.

For 4 people

1)
Browning the veal

½ cup (4 ounces)
lardons
(blanched bacon sticks, 1½ inches long and ¼ inch thick)

3 Tb olive oil or cooking oil

4 veal shoulder chops or steaks ¾ to 1 inch thick, dried in paper towels

1 cup minced onions

2 large cloves garlic, mashed or minced

Cut the blanched
lardons
of bacon into ¼-inch dice, and brown slowly with the oil in a frying pan. Remove with a slotted spoon and set aside, leaving fat in pan. Add the chops or steaks; brown for 3 to 4 minutes on each side, being sure fat is very hot but not burning. Remove veal. Stir in the onions and garlic, cover, and cook slowly, stirring occasionally, for 8 to 10 minutes, until tender. Scoop onions and garlic into a side dish, leaving fat in pan. Remove pan from heat.