Our Saturday night dinner-in couldn’t have been nicer. It was one of those crazy weeks, Mr Man working long hours and the girls having alot on – which meant I did too. So it was nice to have a family dinner at home and just do nothing.
This veal dish is relatively simple and the flavours are bold, qualities that I find in alot of Italian recipes I love. The original recipe called for equal amounts of wine and tomato – I changed this slightly because I thought the wine might overpower the flavours in the tomato sauce and I think I made the right decision. We ate this with a parmesan polenta and green salad, had the obligatory Saturday night glass of wine and were in bed by 8.00pm – perfect!
Ingredients
12 thin slices of veal, shoulder or leg, pounded to 1/4-inch thickness
Salt and pepper
1/2 cup pine nuts, toasted in a 400°F oven for 2 minutes
1/2 cup currants
1/2 cup freshly grated pecorino
3 ounces prosciutto, cut into 1/8-inch dice
1 cup Italian parsley leaves, coarsely chopped
4 garlic cloves, crushed
1 egg
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
2 ounces pancetta, cut into 1/8-inch dice
1 large Spanish onion, thinly sliced
3 cups Basic Tomato Sauce
1 cup red wine
Season the veal with salt and pepper. In a medium bowl, combine the pine nuts, currants, pecorino, prosciutto, parsley and garlic. Add the egg and mix well. Divide the pine nut mixture among the 12 veal pieces, leaving a 1/2-inch perimeter uncovered. Roll each piece of veal tightly and bind with butcher’s twine to ensure that the filling stays intact.
In a large casserole or Dutch oven, heat the olive oil until almost smoking. Add the pancetta and sauté for 2 minutes. Add the onion and sauté for 2 minutes. Remove the pancetta and onion with a slotted spoon, reserving on a plate. Add the veal pieces and brown them on all sides, then remove to a plate, working in batches if necessary to avoid overcrowding the pan. When all of the veal has been browned, add the tomato sauce and wine and bring to a boil, scraping the bottom of the pan to loosen the browned bits. Reduce to a simmer and add the veal, onions and pancetta. Cover tightly and simmer for 1 hour. Allow to rest 10 minutes off the heat before serving.
Notes: If you do prefer a stronger wine flavour then change the quantity of red wine to 2 cups and reduce the tomato sauce to 2 cups.
Source: adapted from Mario Batalli
© 2011, Michelle. All rights reserved.
We love this recipe too – fairly simple and soooooo delish! Even our two and half year old loved it. I’ve never had any luck cooking polenta but your suggested pairing with this meat dish has inspired me to give it another shot. Thanks Michelle!
and thank you
Braised Veal! Now that’s something I haven’t tried! Thanks for the great recipe! I’ll let you know how it goes!