Veal Casserole Recipes

BRAISED VEAL

Steps:

• Place a casserole pan on a medium heat and melt half the butter with a splash of oil. Season and brown the veal on all sides, then remove from pan and set aside.
• Peel and finely slice the onions and garlic, then trim and cut the leeks into large chunks. Sauté in the same pan until soft but not coloured, then add the carrots and cook for a few minutes.
• Make a space in the middle, and place in your veal, surrounded by the veg. Tuck the bay into the veal and pour in the wine and 100ml water.
• Bring to the boil, then cover with a circle of greaseproof paper and simmer for 2 to 2 hours 30 minutes, till the veal is tender. Check the liquid level every 20 minutes or so, adding water as necessary.
• When the veal is ready, place a frying pan on a medium-high heat with the remaining butter. Tear in the mushrooms and fry until they start to turn golden.
• Season, and stir into the veal with the double cream. Bring back to the boil then simmer uncovered for 10 minutes, till reduced.
• Transfer the veal to a board and slice. Serve with braised veg, buttered spätzli or noodles and cabbage gratin.

VEAL STEW

Steps:

• In a large pot, heat oil over medium heat. Add onions and garlic; cook and stir until onion is tender.
• Add meat to the pot, and brown evenly.
• Stir in tomato sauce and white wine. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low, cover and simmer for 1 1/2 hours, or until tender.

VEAL PARMIGIANA

Steps:

• Italian immigrants brought this dish to America, and since then veal parmigiana has become a classic New York dish, and rightly so. I love it when it's layered up like this, with the tomato sauce and cheese, then baked in the oven to gratinate. Feel free to swap veal for pork leg or even chicken that's been battered out. If you want to spike this with a bit of extra flavour you could also add a few capers or olives to the tomato sauce.
• Preheat your oven to 200ºC/400ºF/gas 6. Pick the leaves off the sprigs of basil and put them into a small bowl of water to keep them fresh. Finely chop the tender stalks. Put a pan on a medium heat and add a splash of olive oil, the chopped basil stalks, garlic and anchovies and cook for a few minutes. Prick the chilli a few times and add it to the pan. Allow everything to sizzle for a minute or so, then pour in the tinned tomatoes. Bring to the boil, then turn the heat down and simmer for 20 minutes. Season to taste with sea salt and black pepper.
• Meanwhile, prepare your escalopes. Mix the breadcrumbs in a bowl with the thyme leaves and Parmesan. Finely grate your lemon zest into the breadcrumbs, mix again, then lay out three plates in front of you. Put the flour on one and season it with salt and pepper, pour the eggs on to the next plate and put the herby breadcrumbs on the third. Dip the escalopes, one at a time, into the flour until well coated. Shake off any excess, then dip into the egg. Let the extra egg drip off, then lay the escalope in the breadcrumb mixture. Sprinkle a handful of crumbs over the top and press them down. Make a real point of getting breadcrumbs on to every part of the escalope.
• Heat a large non-stick frying pan over a medium heat and add a good splash of olive oil. Let it heat up a bit, then add your escalopes. If your pan isn't big enough, you may have to cook them in batches, adding a little extra oil if needed. Cook for a few minutes on each side until lightly golden, then transfer to a plate lined with kitchen paper to drain. Get yourself a snug-fitting, appropriately sized baking dish (approx. 30 x 20cm) and spread the tomato sauce in the dish. Lay your escalopes on top, side by side. Tear the buffalo mozzarella into pieces and dot these over the dish with a few basil leaves.
• Bake in the oven for 20 minutes until golden, bubbling and deliciously cooked. Sprinkle the rest of the basil leaves over. Perfect with a crunchy zingy salad, but in America they'd also serve it with things like spaghetti, rice or mashed potatoes, polenta or crusty bread.

VEAL CASSEROLE

Steps:

• 1. Heat the oil and half the butter in a large heavy-based saucepan over high heat and cook the veal in three batches for 3 minutes, or until browned. Transfer to a plate with any juices and keep warm. 2. Heat the remaining butter in the same saucepan, add the onion and cook for 3 minutes, or until soft. Add the cumin and cook for 30 seconds, or until fragrant. Add the garlic and mushrooms and cook for 1-2 minutes, or until the mushrooms are soft. Reduce the heat to low, sprinkle on the flour, stir to combine and cook for 1 minute. Stir in the beef stock. 3. Return the meat and any juices to the saucepan with the zucchini, carrot, tomatoes and tomato paste and stir until the mixture boils and thickens, breaking up the tomatoes with the back of a wooden spoon. Reduce the heat and simmer for 5 minutes, or until the meat is cooked through and tender. Stir in the chopped parsley, then season with salt and pepper. Serve with wild rice and bread.

VEAL AND PEPPER GOULASH

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 180C
• Slice the veal into 2cm cubes. Cut the onion in half and then into thick slices. Remove the seeds and white bits from the peppers and cut into quite thick slices.
• In an oven proof casserole dish melt the butter on the hob and gently fry the onions for 2-3 minutes, add the veal and continue cooking for 3-5 minutes, stirring well to ensure that the meat is sealed all over.
• Add the peppers and paprika and continue stirring for a minute or 2 before adding the tomato juice, stock cube, bay leaf and seasoning. Bring to the boil and then take of the heat.
• Cover and put the casserole in the oven for 1-1 1/2 hours, stirring once or twice, until the meat is so tender that it is starting to fall apart
• Take the casserole out of the oven and put it back on the hob
• Stir in 1 pot of yoghurt and a handful of chopped parsely....season to taste and continue cooking for another 2 minutes or so.
• Serve over pasta... I usually use tagliatelli, but have had great success with shells as well as they hold the sauce beautifully. Here I have used bows....
• Top with a spoonful of yoghurt and a sprinkle of chopped parsley.
• As with chilli, this tastes even better the next day when the flavours have had time to develop. It freezes beautifully as well. I am inclined to use double the paprika and a big pinch of chili flakes on colder days!