Veal Stew (French Blanquette de Veau)

This dish is a speciality from northern and eastern France, notably Normandy, Burgundy and Lyonnais. It is a veal ragout cooked in a white butter sauce with carrots and onions. Neither the veal nor the butter should be browned while cooking. The dish's white appearance earn it the name blanquette (from blanc, 'white'). The stew is usually served with mushrooms and rice (most common), noodles (in the traditional recipe) or potatoes. Even though veal remains the preferred meat for blanquette, other white meats such as turkey, chicken, rabbit or pork are often used for this classic of French bourgeois cuisine. The favourite veal cuts for blanquette are usually breast, shoulder or flank. This sauce is prepared by making a liaison between egg yolks and the broth and incorporating fresh cream (crème fraîche). The blanquette is usually served with carrots, mushrooms, and pearl onion and is traditionally accompanied by rice but can also be served with pasta or potatoes.

2 lb veal, shoulder, chest or flank, cut into large cubes
1 onion, poked with whole cloves
1 bouquet garni (parsley, thyme, bay leaf, sage)
4 carrots, cut into large sections
1 cup dry white wine
10 oz. mushrooms, quartered
sea salt
black pepper, freshly ground

Sauce:
4 Tbsp. butter
½ cup flour
¾ cup crème fraîche
½ lemon, freshly juiced
3 egg yolks

Put the meat cubes in a large saucepan and cover with cold water. Bring to a boil and add salt.

Skim regularly at the surface so that the broth becomes clear. After 20 minutes, add the onion stuck with cloves and the bouquet garni.

Simmer for another 20 minutes, then add carrots and wine.

Continue to simmer uncovered over low heat for another 45 minutes or until meat is tender. Add a little water during cooking if necessary. Remove the onion and the bouquet garni.

Meanwhile, sauté the mushrooms in a frying pan for 2 minutes with a knob of butter. Add salt, pepper, add a ladle of broth and continue cooking for 5 minutes.

Sauce (prepare a few minutes before serving): In a saucepan, melt the butter. Add the flour while whisking over low heat for 5 minutes.

Gradually add cooking broth while whisking until a reaching a thick sauce consistency.

Add crème fraîche as well as lemon juice, and continue cooking for 2 minutes.

Take saucepan off the heat and add egg yolks. Whisk well to incorporate. Add this sauce back to the pan with the meat and vegetables. Add the mushrooms and gently stir to incorporate everything.

Immediately serve the blanquette with rice, pasta or potatoes.

Makes 4 servings.