Veal Stew with Peas

Alas, I have stopped eating veal. But if our food supply is ever extricated from a capitalist means of production, this is one of the things I’ll make to celebrate.

This is a dish that could be defined as a fricassee, which generally involves stewed meat but the end result is not really what I think of as a stew, which is something with a more liquid, that you eat in a bowl with a spoon. A fricassee involves stewing meat (aka braising it) then removing it, thickening or altering its braising liquid, then pouring it back over the meat before serving. The result is morsels of meat that have all the benefits of having been braised – moist, fork-tender, etc – but served with a sauce the consistency more similar to one you might find with a tenderer, more swiftly cooked piece of meat. And yet any of the same principles of cooking a stew apply – but in this case, you cannot simply let the meat bubble away forever. Veal, like the chicken in the pot pie recipe, will transition very quickly from tender to mush if cooked for too long, so this is another one that should be monitored and you should respect the cooking time that is indicated here.

Ingredients

• 3 TBS butter
• 1 medium-large onion, cut into strips
• 1 clove garlic, smashed
• 1 ¼ lb veal stew meat, cut roughly into 1.5” chunks
• 2 TBS Wondra
• ½ cup dry white wine
• 1 cup veal stock (or chicken stock)
• 1 bouquet garni (small bunch of fresh parsley stems, 1 bay leaf, 8 sprigs of thyme, 8 peppercorns, tied in a cheese cloth
• ½ lb cremini or button mushrooms
• 8 oz frozen peas
• 6 TBS crème fraiche
• 1 TBS fresh squeezed lemon juice
• Salt and pepper

Directions:

Melt 2 TBS of the butter over medium heat in a large pot, and when the foam has subsided add the garlic and onions, along with a little salt and pepper. Cook for about 15 minutes, being careful not to brown the onions too severely or burn the butter, until the onions are very soft. Add the veal and stir almost constantly until it is ivory all over but not browned. Add the Wondra and stir so that all of the flour is absorbed by the fat and juices. Increase the heat to high and continue to stir for about 1 more minute. Add the wine and bring to a boil. When the wine has been boiling for about 30 seconds the alcohol is cooked off and you may add the stock. Make sure that all of the meat is completely submerged. Add the bouquet garni – you can tie it to the handle of the pot using some butcher’s twine if you like, but with this small amount, it’s not really necessary.

Cover the pot, reduce the heat so the liquids are simmering gently, and cook for 1 hour and 15 minutes. While it’s cooking, you should stir it ever so often, to make sure that nothing is sticking to the bottom and that everything is evenly distributed, but for the most part, you want to leave it alone. In the meantime, prepare the mushrooms: clean with a paper towel and cut the tough ends of the stems off, then slice to about 1/8” thick. In a small sauté pan, add the remaining TBS of butter over medium-high heat, and when the foam has subsided, add the mushrooms and some salt and pepper. Toss immediately to evenly distribute the butter. Cook for about 5 minutes until the mushrooms have given up their liquid and are golden all over. You don’t want to stir too frequently, in order to give the surface that is touching the pan a chance to caramelize – just enough so that you distribute them evenly and all surfaces touch the pan for long enough. When they’re finished, leave them in the pan, turn off the heat, and reserve.

When an hour and 15 minutes has passed, add the mushrooms and any cooking juices to the veal. At this point if you were to taste the veal, it would be cooked through but not yet tender. Raise the heat slightly and continue to cook for another 15 minutes or so, uncovered. The sauce should reduce by about one fourth. At this point, remove one piece of the veal and taste. It should be perfectly tender, able to be cut with a fork and offering no resistance to the bite, yet not mushy. If it still is a bit tough, continue to cook, testing small pieces every few minutes. When the veal is done, remove it to a serving dish using a slotted spoon, and cover with foil to keep warm.

Turn the heat on the sauce to high, and in a separate dish, whisk together the crème fraiche and the lemon juice. Add it to the sauce and reduce to the desired consistency – I like it roughly the consistency of heavy cream, but you can go thinner if you like, or perhaps even a little thicker. When it is just about at the desired consistency, add the peas (which will thin things out ever so slightly) and cook for another 2-3 minutes. You don’t want to add the peas too soon, since I think they’re best in this dish when they’re still bright green and plump, and if you cook them longer, they will turn dark green and wrinkled. I’m always a bit wary and disdainful of saying “The French do it this way” or “The Italians do it that way” – such broad generalizations expose more than just one’s ignorance, but often a stupid infatuation with all-things French, all-things Italian, or even more idiotically, all-things European. The only things that I think can be called universally European are running pants and popped collars on polo shirts. But broadly, peas that are cooked longer until they are wrinkled and olive colored are often called à la francaise and every pea that I’ve ever eaten in Italy has been bright and smooth. I don’t know what peas that are bright and smooth are called, but I prefer them this way.

When the sauce has reduced to the consistency you like, pour it over the veal. I think wild rice goes well with this dish, and I like to prepare a wild rice pilaf to accompany it. Crusty bread, potatoes, or even egg noodles (if you must – I would never) would go well. Serve immediately and enjoy.