Ingredients
The pot
- 1.2 kgveal shoulder or breast, in 5 cm pieces
- 1onion studded with 2 cloves
- 2carrots, halved
- 1leek, halved
- 1celery stick
- 1bouquet garni
- 1.5 litrescold water
- 1½ tsp salt
Garnish
- 250 gbutton mushrooms
- 300 gbaby onions, peeled
- 20 gbutter
- 1 tspsugar
- juice of ½ lemon
Sauce
- 50 gbutter
- 50 gplain flour
- 150 mldouble cream
- 2egg yolks
- juice of ½ lemon
- white pepper
- grated nutmeg
To serve
- plain rice or steamed potatoes
- chopped parsley
Directions
- Put the veal in a pot, cover with cold water, bring slowly to a boil and blanch 3 minutes. Drain and rinse each piece under cold running water, and wash out the pot.
- This blanching step is what makes a blanquette white. Browning the meat, as you would for any other stew, is precisely what must not happen.
- Return the clean veal to the clean pot with the fresh cold water, the studded onion, carrot, leek, celery, bouquet garni and salt. Bring to a bare simmer and skim carefully.
- Cook at the gentlest possible tremble for 1 hr 15 min, until the veal is tender. Never let it boil — a boil emulsifies the fat and clouds the stock.
- Meanwhile glaze the baby onions in a little butter, sugar and water until just tender and still pale, and sauté the mushrooms in butter with the lemon juice, again without colouring them.
- Lift out the veal and keep it warm. Strain the stock and measure 1 litre.
- Make a white roux: melt the butter, stir in the flour and cook 2 minutes over low heat without letting it take any colour at all. Whisk in the hot stock a ladle at a time and simmer 10 minutes.
- Whisk the cream and egg yolks together in a bowl. Temper with several ladles of the hot sauce, whisking, then return it all to the pan.
- Warm through over the lowest heat, stirring, until it thickens slightly. It must not boil after the yolks go in or it will scramble.
- Finish with lemon juice, white pepper and nutmeg, return the veal, onions and mushrooms, and serve with rice and parsley.
Technique
- Nothing in this dish is allowed to brown — not the meat, not the roux, not the garnish. That restraint is the definition of a blanquette.
- Bare simmer throughout, and no boil at all after the liaison.
- Blanch and rinse properly at the start. Skipping it gives a grey, scummy stock.
Substitutions
- Chicken or rabbit, cooked the same way, in about half the time.
- Crème fraîche in place of cream and yolks for a simpler, more stable sauce.
Variations
- Blanquette à l’ancienne, with the yolk liaison as above.
- A version finished with a splash of dry vermouth.
History
A white veal ragout that appears in eighteenth-century French cookbooks; the meat is poached rather than browned, keeping the sauce pale.
Frequently asked questions
What is Blanquette de veau?
Blanquette de veau is a main from France: veal simmered in white cream sauce with mushrooms and rice. A white veal ragout that appears in eighteenth-century French cookbooks; the meat is poached rather than browned, keeping the sauce pale.
How long does Blanquette de veau take to make?
Blanquette de veau takes 30 min of preparation and 1 hr 45 min of cooking. The recipe makes 6 servings. It is rated medium to make.
What can I substitute in Blanquette de veau?
Yes, within limits. Chicken or rabbit, cooked the same way, in about half the time. Crème fraîche in place of cream and yolks for a simpler, more stable sauce.
What is the most important thing to get right in Blanquette de veau?
This blanching step is what makes a blanquette white. Browning the meat, as you would for any other stew, is precisely what must not happen.
