Veal Stew Forestière Recipes

VEAL STEW

Steps:

• In a large pot, heat oil over medium heat. Add onions and garlic; cook and stir until onion is tender.
• Add meat to the pot, and brown evenly.
• Stir in tomato sauce and white wine. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low, cover and simmer for 1 1/2 hours, or until tender.

BLUEPRINT FOR VEAL STEW

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.
• In an oven proof casserole, heat, until very hot, half of the oil. In small batches brown the veal cubes on all sides. When one batch is done, add more oil if you need to and continue to brown until all the veal is done. Discard the fat in the casserole and replace it with the butter. Add the carrot, onion and celery, cover and simmer 5 minutes or until onions are translucent. Add the white wine and boil down for a minute or until alcohol has evaporated. Return the veal cubes to the casserole with garlic and add just enough broth to barely cover the veal. Bring the liquid to a boil, add the bouquet garni, put a buttered piece of parchment or brown paper on top of the meat, then a lid on the casserole and set in the oven. Cook for 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 hours or until the meat is tender.
• Remove casserole from the oven and strain the contents through a sieve and the liquid into another saucepan; discard bouquet garni. Divide solids into 2 batches. Degrease the liquid and boil it down until reduced to 3 cups. Remove 1 1/2 cups of the liquid and add it to half of the meat. Return the other half of the veal to the remaining liquid. Season with salt and pepper. Thicken with beurre manie if you wish. Serve with rice, polenta or potatoes; garnish with parsley.

VEAL STEW FORESTIèRE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 450°F.
• In a Dutch oven, heat oil over medium-high heat. Brown veal cubes on all sides and set aside on a plate (they will not be cooked through).
• Add a bit more oil if needed, and reduce heat to medium-low. Add shallots and garlic and sweat gently 1 minute until shallots are translucent and garlic is fragrant.
• Add mushrooms and raise heat to medium. Cook until mushrooms are soft and beginning to brown, 6-8 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.
• Move the pan away from the open flame (if using an electric range, you can skip this step), add the sherry, then return the pot to the stove. Turn up heat until sherry boils vigorously. Scrape the brown bits (fond) from the bottom of the pan as the sherry reduces.
• Return the veal to the pot, along with any accumulated juices. Add beef stock and thyme. Cover and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer 2 hours.
• Spray a baking sheet with nonstick spray. Place the slices of prosciutto or jambon on the sheet and bake in preheated oven until crispy, about 10 minutes. Cool slightly then break slices into shards.
• Mash together butter and flour to form a beurre manie. Drop small bits of this mixture onto the surface of the stew, then stir in well. Let simmer until thickened, 3-5 minutes. Off heat, add cream and stir. Remove the stems of the thyme sprigs and discard.
• Serve with buttered noodles or mashed potatoes. Garnish each dish with the ham crumbs.

STEW AND MARIANNE LEONARD'S MEDALLIONS OF BEEF FORESTIERE

Steps:

• Sprinkle the beef with salt and pepper.
• Heat one tablespoon of the clarified butter in a saucepan and add the shallots and garlic. Cook briefly, stirring, and add the sliced mushrooms. Cook, stirring, about three minutes.
• Add half of the dry red wine and stir. Cook until reduced almost by half and add the veal broth or beef broth. Bring to the boil and add the remaining dry red wine and the Madeira wine. Cook until reduced by half. There should be about one and one-quarter cups.
• Heat the remaining one tablespoon clarified butter in a heavy skillet and add the beef. Cook the meat on one side for two to three minutes or until nicely browned. Turn the pieces and cook two to three minutes on the second side to the desired degree of doneness. Transfer the meat to a warm platter.
• Add the mushroom sauce to the skillet and stir to dissolve the brown particles that may cling to the bottom of the skillet.
• Swirl the soft butter into the sauce. Spoon an equal amount of the sauce onto six warmed plates. Top each with one piece of beef and garnish with basil sprigs.