BRAISED VEAL STEW PROVENCAL

Friday, February 26, 2010

Adapted from Peace Meals A Book of Recipes for Cooking and Connecting

A Cookbook by The Junior League of Houston, Inc.
Serves 4-6

When a dish is described as “Provencal”, I immediately think tomatoes, garlic, onions, and olive oil. But, wait a second, that sounds like Italian food, and Provence is a region of France. Provence boarders the Mediterranean to the South and Italy to the East. Its cuisine has more in common with its Mediterranean neighbors than with the rest of France. In Provence, they cook with olive oil rather than butter, and the meals are usually simple and rustic with an emphasis on fresh vegetables and fruit.

With warm sun and rich soil, Provence produces fruits, vegetables, and herbs in abundance. Olive trees, lavender, and sunflower fields dot the landscape. Gorgeous tomatoes, zucchini, eggplant, bell peppers, fennel, melons, and berries are grown in the area and proliferate the farmers markets. There, “locally grown” isn’t a marketing phrase; it’s a way of life. Farmers markets are held in each village usually once a week. Farmers, bakers, butchers, and other locals sell their produce, homemade bread, charcuterie, olive oils, preserves, and other goods. It is like Disney Land for a foodie….and, by the way, every French person is a foodie. They are indoctrinated into food when they start eating solids.

A peek at a market in Provence

This recipe for Provencal-style veal stew is rustic and unrefined; simple. It is packed with tomatoes, onions, garlic, and carrots. The best flavor is added at the end: sweet little pearl onions and black olives. Although veal is lighter than beef, this stew is hearty enough to warm and nourish the body on a chilly day. You can serve it as is in bowls with French bread, but it is also delicious served over mashed potatoes, spaghetti, or risotto.

From the left: orange, veal shoulder, San Marzano plum tomatoes, a bag of frozen peeled pearl onions (hugely convenient – have you ever tried to peel 50 pearl onions?), and onions

A cup of black olives and the chopped carrots – if you want a shortcut, buy a bag of peeled baby carrots and cut them, lengthwise, into quarters

Note: Other versions of this recipe use sliced mushrooms in place of the carrots

1/4 cup olive oil

2 lbs boneless veal shoulder, cut into 1 1/2-inch pieces

coarse salt and freshly ground pepper

3 onions, chopped

3 large cloves garlic, finely chopped and divided

1 (28oz) can plum tomatoes, including juice (preferably San Marzano)

1/2 lb carrots, peeled and cut into 3 x 1/2-inch sticks

4 strips orange peel, julienned

1 cup dry white wine

3/4 tsp dried thyme

3/4 tsp dried rosemary

1/2 lb frozen peeled pearl onions

1/2 cup oil-cured black olives, seeded and chopped

1. BROWN MEAT AND THEN VEGETABLES: Preheat oven to 325. In a large Dutch oven, heat olive oil over MEDIUM HIGH. Pat veal dry and then season with salt and pepper. When oil is hot, add veal and saute until it is lightly browned but not cooked through. Remove veal and reduce heat to MEDIUM. The fat left in the pan will be nice and brown. Add onions and 2 cloves of garlic. Saute until soft, about 5 minutes. Stir in tomatoes and carrots and cook 5 minutes more. Add veal back to the pan.

Pat meat dry before you season and then brown

Sauteing the vegetables in the fat rendered from browning the meat gives them great flavor

Tomatoes, carrots, onions, and garlic with the veal are about to be braised in a fragrant bath of wine and seasonings. The process will melt the fat from the meat which will make the meat fall-apart-tender and the broth rich and flavorful

2. ADD SEASONINGS AND WINE AND THEN BRAISE: Add orange peel, wine, thyme, and rosemary. Cover and cook in the oven 1 1/2 hours. Meanwhile, steam your frozen peeled pearl onions in the microwave: cover and microwave 7 minutes. Set aside.

3. SERVE: When veal stew is done, remove from oven and stir in the pearl onions and remaining clove of garlic. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve bowls of stew topped with the chopped olives.