Veal Sweetbreads With Dates Maui Onions And Puff Pastry Recipes

VEAL SWEETBREADS WITH DATES, MAUI ONIONS AND PUFF PASTRY

Steps:

• For the Sweetbreads: Dice all of the vegetables and place in a pot with cold milk. Add herbs and spice and rinsed sweetbreads. Bring to a boil over high heat. Once to full boil, cover and remove from heat, allow sweetbreads to cool completely in milk. Clean off any excess membranes and separate into 1--inch nuggets. Reserve, refrigerated, until needed.
• For Onions: Slice the onions into 1/4-inch wedges and toss them in liquid veal jus. Season well and spread on a non-stick pad. Roast in a preheated 275 degree oven until brown, but still crisp. Reserve at room temperature.
• For the Sweetbread Fricasee: Heat a heavy saute pan over high heat and add butter. Flour and season the sweetbreads with salt and pepper. Add to the foaming butter. Color light golden brown. Add the baked onions, garlic puree, and diced dates. Saute briefly. Deglaze with sherry vinegar and reduce. Add veal jus and parsley. Reduce to a glaze.
• For the garnish: Saute the mixed greens in olive oil and place in puff pastry shell. Cover over with sweetbreads and garnish with chervil. Serve hot.

FRESH VEAL SWEETBREADS WITH PORCINI SAUCE & CARROT SALAD

Steps:

• For the salad:.
• Put all ingredients, except oil, in bowl (if hand whisking) or food processor. While mixing slowly drizzle in oils until smooth and emulsified.
• Toss all ingredients in a bowl with 3-4 tablespoons dressing. Salt & pepper to taste.
• For the sweetbreads:.
• Heat Oven to 400 Degrees. Heat large heavy sauté pan. Season pressed sweetbread with salt and pepper, dredge in flour.
• Heat heavy sauté pan, add oil and 2 tablespoons butter, warm until butter melts. Add floured sweetbread, sear well on all sides - three minutes on each side - add remaining butter, rosemary and thyme - baste sweetbreads until firm - approximately four minutes. Remove to plate and keep warm.
• Add garlic and shallot to the same pan with residual butter. Add mushrooms and stir until brown. Deglaze pan with wine, add heavy cream and simmer until reduced by half.
• Divide sauce among four plates, slice sweetbreads, set on sauce and garnish with carrot salad.

VEGETABLE-STUFFED LOIN OF VEAL WITH SWEETBREADS

Steps:

• Prepare sweetbreads:
• Soak sweetbreads in a large bowl of ice and cold water in the refrigerator, changing water occasionally (2 or 3 times), at least 8 hours. Drain sweetbreads and transfer to a 4-quart heavy saucepan. Cover with cold water by 1 inch and add 1 tablespoon salt. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, until sweetbreads plump and feel slightly firmer to the touch, about 3 minutes. Drain in a colander and transfer to a bowl of cold water to stop cooking. Cut away any fat and pull away as much membrane and connective tissue as possible with a small paring knife without breaking up sweetbreads.
• Arrange sweetbreads in 1 layer in a baking dish, then cover with plastic wrap and top with another baking dish or plate holding weights. Chill sweetbreads, weighted, at least 8 hours.
• While sweetbreads chill, blanch pistachios in a small saucepan of boiling water 1 minute, then drain and peel.
• Pat sweetbreads dry and season with salt and pepper. Heat oil and 2 tablespoons butter in a deep 12-inch skillet over moderately high heat until foam subsides, then sauté half of sweetbreads, turning over once, until golden brown, about 4 minutes total, and transfer to a plate. Add 1 tablespoon butter to skillet and sauté remaining sweetbreads in same manner, transferring to plate.
• Add remaining 2 tablespoons butter to skillet, then reduce heat to moderate and cook pancetta, stirring occasionally, until beginning to brown, 2 to 3 minutes. Add onion, carrot, celery, garlic, bay leaf, and thyme, then reduce heat to moderately low and cook, stirring, until vegetables are softened, 3 to 5 minutes. Add Sherry and bring to a boil, then add demi-glace, water, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon pepper, pistachios, and sweetbreads and return to a boil. Reduce heat to low, then cover surface of mixture with a buttered round of parchment paper (buttered side down) and simmer sweetbreads, skillet partially covered with lid, until firm but still springy to the touch, 15 to 20 minutes.
• Transfer sweetbreads with a slotted spoon to a bowl and, when cool enough to handle, pull apart into 1- to 1 1/2-inch pieces. Ladle cooking liquid through a sieve into a bowl, discarding bay leaf and thyme, and reserve. Reserve vegetables in another bowl for sauce and stuffing.
• Make stuffing:
• Cook spinach in a large pot of boiling salted water , uncovered, until wilted, about 20 seconds, then drain in colander. Transfer spinach to a bowl of cold water to stop cooking and drain again, squeezing handfuls of spinach to remove excess liquid. Chop spinach and stir into reserved vegetables along with 1/4 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon pepper, and 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg.
• Stuff and roast veal loin:
• Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 400°F.
• Make a hole for stuffing that runs lengthwise through veal: Beginning in middle of 1 end of roast, insert a sharp long thin knife lengthwise toward center, then repeat at opposite end of loin to complete an incision running through middle. Open up incision with your fingers, working from both ends, to create a 1 1/2-inch-wide opening. Pack loin with all but 2 tablespoons vegetable stuffing, pushing from both ends toward center.
• Tie veal roast with kitchen string at 1-inch intervals along entire length of roast. Pat veal dry and season generously with salt and pepper.
• Heat oil in an ovenproof 12-inch heavy skillet over high heat until just smoking, then brown veal, turning with tongs, about 5 minutes.
• Transfer skillet to oven and roast veal until thermometer inserted diagonally 2 inches into meat (do not touch stuffing) registers 150°F, 45 to 50 minutes for veal; about 40 minutes for pork. Transfer roast with tongs to a platter and let stand 20 minutes.
• Make sauce and reheat sweetbreads while veal stands:
• Skim fat from sweetbread cooking liquid and bring liquid to a boil in a 2 1/2-quart heavy saucepan. Stir in remaining 2 tablespoons vegetables, remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt, remaining 1/4 teaspoon pepper, and remaining 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg. Add sweetbreads along with any veal juices accumulated on platter and simmer until just heated through. Remove from heat and keep warm, covered.
• Discard string, then cut veal into 1-inch-thick slices and serve with sweetbreads and some sauce. Serve remaining sauce on the side.