Ingredients
Veal
- 600 gveal loin or leg, in thin strips
- 150 gveal kidney, optional and traditional
- salt and white pepper
- 1 tbspflour
Sauce
- 250 gbutton mushrooms, sliced
- 2shallots, finely chopped
- 150 mldry white wine
- 200 mldouble cream
- 100 mlveal or chicken stock
- 1 tbsplemon juice
- 50 gbutter
- chopped parsley
To serve
- rösti, which is the fixed accompaniment
Equipment
- a wide heavy pan
Note
- the sauce splits if boiled hard after the cream goes in
Directions
- Trim out the white core entirely, which is the part that tastes strongest. Geschnetzeltes means cut into small pieces, and the meat is cut into short thin strips. Cut across the grain into strips about 5 mm thick and 4 cm long. Cutting across the grain is what keeps them tender, and thin strips cook in under a minute.
- Use a tender cut. Pat the strips completely dry. Season and toss them in a little flour. The flour helps them colour and it lightly thickens the sauce afterwards. Sear the strips for no more than a minute, turning once. Take them out while they are still pink in the middle. They return to the sauce at the end and they carry on cooking, and overcooked veal is dry and tough.
- Set them aside on a warm plate and keep any juices. Cook the kidney the same way, separately and very briefly. Add more butter and fry the mushrooms over a high heat until browned.
- Let them sit and colour before stirring, since crowded stirred mushrooms release water and stew. Add the shallots and cook until soft. Let it bubble and reduce by half, scraping up everything stuck to the base. Add the stock and reduce again.
- Add the cream and let it simmer gently until it thickens slightly. Do not boil it hard once the cream is in, which splits it into oil and grainy solids. Warm it through for no more than a minute. The meat is already cooked, and simmering it in the sauce for five minutes turns tender veal into rubber.
- Take it off the heat as soon as it is hot. Stir in a spoonful of lemon juice off the heat. The acid lifts a rich cream sauce and stops it tasting heavy and flat, and it is not optional.
- Season with salt and white pepper. White pepper rather than black, which is the Swiss habit and keeps the sauce pale. Scatter chopped parsley over the top. Serve it immediately with rösti. The crisp potato against the cream sauce is exactly the contrast it needs, and rice or noodles are a poor substitute.
Technique
- The kidney is traditional and is often omitted in modern versions.
- Rösti is the fixed accompaniment in Zurich.
- The first printed recipes date from the 1940s.
Substitutions
- Pork or turkey in place of veal, which is common and cheaper.
- Crème fraîche in place of cream, which is less likely to split.
Variations
- Made with kidney, as traditionally.
- Made with pork, which is the everyday version.
- With a splash of brandy alongside the wine.
History
Strips of veal in white wine and cream, sometimes with kidney; the first printed recipes appear in Zurich cookbooks in the 1940s.
Frequently asked questions
What is Zürcher Geschnetzeltes?
Zürcher Geschnetzeltes is a main from Switzerland: sliced veal in mushroom-cream white wine sauce, with rösti. Strips of veal in white wine and cream, sometimes with kidney; the first printed recipes appear in Zurich cookbooks in the 1940s.
How long does Zürcher Geschnetzeltes take to make?
Zürcher Geschnetzeltes takes 20 min of preparation and 20 min of cooking. The recipe makes 4 servings. It is rated medium to make.
What can I substitute in Zürcher Geschnetzeltes?
Yes, within limits. Pork or turkey in place of veal, which is common and cheaper. Crème fraîche in place of cream, which is less likely to split.
What is the most important thing to get right in Zürcher Geschnetzeltes?
Add the cream and let it simmer gently until it thickens slightly. Do not boil it hard once the cream is in, which splits it into oil and grainy solids. Warm it through for no more than a minute. The meat is already cooked, and simmering it in the sauce for five minutes turns tender veal into rubber.
