Slightly Sour Veal
prep time: 1 hour ~ cooking time: 10 minutes
- 1 Veal cutlet per person, but at least 4, lightly pounded
- 1 cup Vinegar (I used a mixture of sherry, white wine and Filipino cane sugar vinegar because that’s what I had on hand and I was nearly out of all three)
- 1/2 cup olive oil
Whisk the vinegar and oil together as best you can and pop it into a thick zip-top bag. Add the veal, extract as much air as possible, seal the top, place in the fridge. Allow the veal to marinate for one hour. Heat a dollop of butter and a little olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Drain the veal and cook in the hot fat a scant 5 minutes per side. Season with salt and pepper and serve alongside your favorite pasta, potatoes or bread. Enjoy!
Pappardelle con Broccoletti
prep time: 15 minutes ~ cooking time: 1o minutes
- 1/2 portion of the fresh pasta recipe from the Silver Spoon (page 268) cut into papparadelle or an equivalent amount of store bought noodles
- 6 fat cloves of Garlic, minced
- Juice of 1 Lemon
- 1/2 c. dry Vermouth
- 2 bunches of Broccoli Rabe, trimmed
- 1 tsp Capers, rinsed
- a handful of fresh Basil, chopped
- Chile flakes
- Olive Oil
Cook the garlic in a glug of olive oil in a sautée pan over medium heat until fragrant. Add the lemon juice, vermouth and rabe. Stir to coat with the garlic and cover. Turn the heat down a bit and allow to cook 5 minutes or until the rabe have gently wilted. Uncover and allow some of the liquid to cook off.
Add the capers, basil and chile flakes to taste. Stir to incorporate and add the pasta and a bit of it’s water to the pan. Turn off the heat. Stir to coat the noodles with the sauce. Serve with good, milky grated cheese. Enjoy!
Slightly Sour Veal is adapated from the recipe for Fettine all’Aceto from the Silver Spoon.
Miss Ray may be a bit excitable, but I don’t think she’s the demon-ness folk make her out to be. A lof of her food looks very good, indeed, and if she can get people to actually cook instead of ordering pizza, I’m all for it!
That said, I LURVE me some veal! Please tell me you’ll try your hand at a saltimbocca next. Or even better- osso bucco!
Let’s assume for a second that most beef live pretty crappy lives. [I know this isn't always true] Wouldn’t putting them out of their misery sooner then be a blessing of some sorts? I’m not sure exactly how the age the animal is slaughtered at matters – you’re still killing the animal. I think if ‘they’ want to worry about killing animals, they should be more concerned about the human propensity for slaughtering other humans, not cows. There. I ranted for the day.
I used to love it when my father cooked veal chops on the grill — but I haven’t eaten veal now for perhaps 20 years. Maybe it’s time to try it again….
Veal..in my youth I thought nothing of eating it, as I hadn’t yet been enlightened to the tortured lives of those calves. Like you, I now realize that more ethically raised veal is available but I haven’t ventured there yet.
The only time I remember actually preparing veal was in my college days, when trying to impress a new beau. I went to the local butcher and purchased over $20 dollars worth..I suffered sticker shock but but bought it anyway. It did the trick, but the boy wasn’t for me..
Looks like your recipe would do the trick too..
s’kat – My sentiment exactly. How did you know veal saltimbocca’s totally the next veal dish I want to make! The butcher pounded the cutlets very thin. I think next time I’d like him to not do that. Are yours usually very thin?
Kevin — Great rant! Glad I could help ;-)
Lydia — Veal chops on the grill sound delicious. I’ll have to try that some time!
Izzy’s mama — That’s hilarious! Maybe RayRay was onto something. She made some not so subtle hints that the meal she was making would totally get you some. Funny.
My goodness!! This will be my next project!
Thanks for the update on the veal. I had no idea that there was a difference!
Ann—First, while you may or may not have thought so at the time, I bet having your mom along on the Italy trip made for some great memories. And regarding veal, ohmigod. It’s one of those rare things like scallops where ease and speed of cooking and great taste intersect beautifully.
The way you describe veal almost makes me want to go out to the macelleria and get some. The vinegar marinating sounds great! After 4 years living in Italy, I haven’t made veal yet (mainly because of the cruelty qualms you mention). Actually in my experience here, vegetarians can get along really well on the myriad primi piatti (pasta, risotto, polenta, etc) that just happen not to contain meat.
TerryB — You are so right. It was amazing to have my mom along on the trip. We had such a lovely time, and we might have the chance to do it again soon (fingers crossed please!!) I never thought of scallops and veal in the same way, but yes, you are 100% correct, they really are!
Susan — Try it, I bet you’d like it. I wish they had served primi piatti on our tour, but they didn’t. Each meal was the same, veal, soggy vegetables, rock hard bread. It was dreadful! But, like I said above, there might be a chance that my mom and I will be back in Italy soon!! I’m sooooooo excited and hope it happens so I won’t say anymore lest I jinx it :-)