Braised Veal With Cardamom Spinach Puree Food

BRAISED VEAL SHOULDER WITH GREMOLATA AND TOMATO-OLIVE SALAD

Steps:

• For gremolata:
• Preheat oven to 350°F. Place veal on work surface; open flat like book. Sprinkle top surface evenly with coarse salt, freshly ground black pepper, and reserved gremolata seasoning. Roll up veal. Tie with kitchen string every 1 1/2 inches to hold shape. Sprinkle outside of roast with coarse salt and pepper.
• For veal:
• Preheat oven to 350°F. Place veal on work surface; open flat like book. Sprinkle top surface evenly with coarse salt, freshly ground black pepper, and reserved gremolata seasoning. Roll up veal. Tie with kitchen string every 1 1/2 inches to hold shape. Sprinkle outside of roast with coarse salt and pepper.
• Heat 2 tablespoons oil in heavy large ovenproof pot over high heat. Add veal and brown on all sides, turning with 2 wooden spoons, 15 to 18 minutes. Transfer veal to small rimmed baking sheet.
• Reduce heat to medium. Add remaining 1 tablespoon oil to same pot. Add onions, carrots, and celery; sauté until beginning to soften, about 5 minutes. Add wine; boil 3 minutes, scraping up browned bits. Add broth, tomatoes, garlic, and rosemary. Return sauce to boil. Return veal to pot. Sprinkle olives around veal. Cover; transfer to oven.
• Braise veal until very tender, turning with wooden spoons every 30 to 40 minutes, about 2 1/2 hours total. Cool veal, uncovered, in sauce in pot, 2 hours. DO AHEAD: can be made 1 day ahead. Chill until cold, then cover and keep chilled.
• Spoon off any fat from surface of sauce. Transfer veal to work surface. Cut veal crosswise into 1/2-to 3/4-inch-thick slices, removing string. Overlap veal slices in 13 x 9 x 2-inch glass baking dish.
• Rewarm sauce in pot over low heat. Spoon off any additional fat from surface. Boil sauce until reduced to 4 cups, about 12 minutes. Transfer 1 cup solids from sauce (without olives) to blender and puree. Return puree to sauce. Season sauce with coarse salt and pepper. Spoon sauce over veal. DO AHEAD: can be made 1 day ahead. Cover dish with foil and chill. Rewarm, covered, in 350°F oven 20 to 30 minutes.
• Sprinkle veal with reserved 1/4 cup gremolata and serve.

BRAISED VEAL WITH CARDAMOM SPINACH PUREE

Steps:

• Heat the oil in a large Dutch oven over medium heat. Season the veal with 1 teaspoon of the salt and pepper. Place the veal in the pot and brown on all sides, about 10 minutes. Take the veal out of the pot and set aside. Pour in the milk. Stir in the cardamom, jalapeno, garlic and onion. Bring just to a simmer. Reduce heat, return the veal to the pot and adjust the heat so that the milk stays just below a simmer.
• Cook, uncovered, for 1 hour and 20 minutes, turning the roast once. Remove from the heat and let the veal stand in the liquid for 20 minutes. Remove the veal from the pot, remove the strings and cover with a warm, damp towel.
• Place 1 cup of the cooking liquid in a large saucepan. Bring to a simmer over medium heat. Add the spinach and cook, stirring constantly, until the spinach is completely wilted. Transfer to a food processor and process until smooth. Stir in the remaining salt and pepper.
• Slice the veal into 6 pieces. Spoon some of the spinach puree into the center of each of 6 plates. Place the veal over the sauce. Serve immediately with steamed potatoes.

BRAISED VEAL WITH CARDAMOM- SPINACH PUREE

Steps:

• Heat olive oil in a large Dutch oven over medium heat. Season veal with 1 teaspoon salt and pepper to taste, place in the pot and brown on all sides, about 10 minutes. Remove veal from the pot and set aside. Pour in the milk. Stir in the cardamom, jalapeno, garlic and onion. Bring just to a simmer. Reduce heat, return veal to pot and adjust heat to prevent milk from simmering. Cook, uncovered, for 1 hour and 20 minutes, turning roast once. Remove from heat and let meat stand in the liquid for 20 minutes. Remove roast from pot, cut off the strings and cover with a warm, damp towel.
• Place 1 cup of cooking liquid in a large saucepan and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Add the spinach and cook, stirring, until spinach is wilted, 2 to 3 minutes. Transfer spinach and liquid to a food processor and process until smooth. Stir in remaining teaspoon of salt and pepper to taste.
• Trim the ends of the roast and slice across into 6 pieces. Divide the spinach puree among 6 plates, placing it to one side, and top with veal. Serve immediately with Indian-Spiced Potato Gratin (see recipe).

PROVENçAL BREAST OF VEAL WITH SPRINGTIME STUFFING

Steps:

• Bring a large pot full of lightly salted water to a boil. Add the chard and spinach, bring the water back to a boil, and cook for 2 to 3 minutes until thoroughly wilted. Drain and squeeze out as much moisture as possible, pressing the greens against a colander with a wooden spoon. Or for a more thorough job, use your hands when the greens have cooled somewhat. Finely chop, either by hand or by pulsing in a food processor.
• In a large skillet, sauté the minced garlic in 3 tablespoons of the oil over moderate heat until pale gold, 2 to 3 minutes. Add the chard and spinach. Cook, stirring, over medium heat, until the liquid is evaporated and the garlic is thoroughly distributed, 5 to 7 minutes. The greens should be very tender. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Transfer to a large bowl and set aside.
• Preheat the oven to 375°F.
• Sauté the onion in a heavy, medium saucepan over medium heat in 3 tablespoons of the oil until softened, 7 to 10 minutes. Add the rice and stir to coat the grains with the onions. In another saucepan, bring the broth to a simmer. Add the broth to the rice a few spoonfuls at a time, as if making risotto. Keep the heat medium-low, and stir, waiting until the broth is nearly absorbed before adding another spoonful. Cook the rice until just tender, 15 to 20 minutes in all. If you finish adding the broth and the rice is not yet tender, add a tablespoon or two of hot water, as needed. Season the rice with salt and pepper (taking in to account the saltiness of the broth you are using), add it to the chard and spinach, and set aside to cool.
• Break the head into single cloves and put them, unpeeled, into a small baking dish in which they fit snugly (I use a 5-inch-square porcelain ramekin). Drizzle with 2 teaspoons of the oil and 1 teaspoon of the thyme. Cover tightly (use foil if you don't have a lid), and roast for 30 to 45 minutes, until a soft puree is formed when you squeeze a clove. Avoid overcooking, which turns the garlic bitter. Squeeze the puree out by hand or run the unpeeled cloves through a food mill to trap the peels. Put the roasted garlic puree in a small bowl and add 1 tablespoon of the rosemary and the lemon juice. Stir well and set aside. Turn off the oven-you will be pan-braising the meat.
• In a food processor, pulse the remaining 1 tablespoon each of rosemary and thyme, the parsley, mint, and lemon zest until finely chopped. Add to the rice mixture. Stir in the egg until well combined.
• Trim the veal of gristle and as much fat as possible. Sprinkle salt and pepper all over, including the inside pocket. Fill the pocket with the stuffing, pushing the mixture as far in as possible, but don't overfill-it will expand somewhat while cooking. Sew the pocket closed. (A large embroidery needle and strong cotton thread or unwaxed dental floss work very well here. Or use a trussing needle and kitchen twine. I find skewering not as successful here-the stuffing is more likely to ooze out into the pan gravy.)
• In a 6-quart Dutch oven or heavy casserole just large enough to accommodate the veal, heat the remaining 2 tablespoons oil until hot, but not smoking. Add the veal and brown it slowly on all sides, turning carefully with wooden spoons so you don't piece the meat. When it is thoroughly browned, arrange the meat so that the fat side is up. Spread the roasted garlic mixtue all over the top. Add the wine and bring to a slow bubble. Place the lid slightly askew, and braise at a slow simmer over very low heat for 2 1/2 to 3 hours, or longer, if necessary, until the meat is very tender. Use a flame tamer (blech) or stack two stove burner grates , if you must to keep the flame very low. Every 20 minutes or so, baste with the pan juices. If possible, turn the meat a few times; don't worry about losing the roasted garlic coating on top-it will add delicious flavor to the cooking juices.
• Transfer the veal to a platter, and let it stand for 10 minutes, tented with foil to keep warm. Boil up the cooking juices for a few minutes to concentrate the flavors, taste for seasoning, then transfer to a sauce boat.
• Slice the veal about 1/2-inch thick, making sure that the slices enclose some of the filling. Nap with some of the juices. Pass remaining sauce separately.
• Don't pass by this fabulous veal because your family refrains from eating rice on Passover. When my agent Elise Goodman wanted to prepare it for her seder, we came up with a wonderful alternative mashed potato stuffing.
• Prepare the stuffing according to the directions above, omitting rice and broth. Sauté the onion until rice gold and set aside. Simmer 3 1/2 cups russet or Yukon gold potatoes, peeled and cubed, in cold, salted water to cover, until tender, about 15 minutes. Drain and mash the potatoes until smooth. Stir in the reserved sautéed onion (along with any oil remaining in the pan), and 1 additional tablespoon olive oil, and season to taste with salt and pepper. Add the potato mixture to the chard and spinach, set aside to cool, and continue with the recipe.

BRAISED VEAL WITH CARDAMOM-SPINACH PUREE

Steps:

• Heat the oil in a large Dutch oven over medium heat. Season the veal with 1 teaspoon of the salt and pepper. Place the veal in the pot and brown on all sides, about 10 minutes; take out of the pot and set aside.
• Pour in the milk. Stir in the cardamom, jalapeno, garlic and onion. Bring just to a simmer. Reduce heat, return the veal to the pot, and adjust the heat so that the milk stays just below a simmer. Cook, uncovered, for 1 hour 20 minutes, turning the roast once. Remove from heat, and let the veal stand in the liquid for 20 minutes. Remove the veal from the pot, remove the strings from the veal, and cover with a warm, damp towel.
• Place 1 cup of the cooking liquid in a large saucepan. Bring to a simmer over medium heat. Add the spinach, and cook, stirring constantly, until it is completely wilted. Transfer to a food processor and process until smooth. Stir in salt and pepper.
• Slice veal into 6 pieces. Spoon some puree into the center of each of 6 plates. Place veal over sauce. Surround with parsleyed potatoes (see recipe), and serve immediately.

VEAL SALTIMBOCCA WITH SPINACH & FONTINA CHEESE

Steps:

• Pound veal cutlets between two sheets of wax paper. Lightly, salt and pepper both sides.
• In large frying pan, melt 2 tablespoons butter with 2 tablespoons olive oil over medium/high heat. Working in batches, dredge veal in flour and cook 1 to 2 minutes per side or until lightly browned on bottom only. (adding more butter/oil as necessary) Remove from heat and onto platter (keeping unused oil in pan).
• Add garlic and mushrooms to pan and saute. Add 2 tablespoons flour and combine. Add wine and beef base. Whisk in 2 tablespoons butter.
• Layer veal with spinach leaves, prosciutto, then cheese slices (cut to fit) on each cutlet. Return veal to pan and cook until cheese melts on top.
• Pour mushrooms and sauce over veal.
• Garnish with parsley and serve.

BRAISED VEAL SHOULDER

Steps:

• Dry rub veal shoulder with spices and let sit in the refrigerator for 24 hours.
• Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.
• Heat butter in roasting pan over medium heat. Add veal shoulder and brown on all sides. Remove from pan. Add vegetables and cook until tender. Add flour to make roux. Whisk in your liquid and add veal shoulder. Bring to simmer on top of stove and cover with foil. Cook in the oven for 3 hours.
• Remove veal and puree sauce until smooth. Slice veal and coat with sauce to serve.