Main dish
Easy Blanquette de Veau with Creamy White Sauce
Beginner-friendlyshared by Nibblore Cuisine
This easy blanquette de veau combines tender veal with a velvety white sauce brightened by a touch of lemon. Gentle simmering keeps the meat succulent, while sautéing the mushrooms separately gives them a deeper flavour. It is a comforting French family dish, perfect for Sunday lunch or a cosy dinner. • Keep the veal at a bare simmer throughout cooking; vigorous boiling can toughen the meat and make the stock cloudy. • If the sauce is too thick, loosen it with a few spoonfuls of reserved stock. If it is too thin, reduce it before adding the cream mixture. • Serve the blanquette with steamed white rice, boiled potatoes or fresh tagliatelle. • Replace the veal shoulder with veal breast, or use a mixture of veal shoulder and breast. • If double cream is unavailable, use crème fraîche loosened with 2 tablespoons of stock. • Replace the leek with one extra small onion and an additional carrot. Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. Reheat very gently in a saucepan without boiling, adding a splash of water if the sauce has thickened. To freeze for up to 2 months, ideally set aside a portion before adding the cream and egg yolk, then finish the sauce after thawing it in the fridge.
Ingredients
- 1.2 kgboneless veal shoulder, cut into 4 cm cubes
- 1yellow onion, peeled and halved
- 2whole cloves
- 3carrots, peeled and cut into thick slices
- 1leek, thoroughly washed and cut into chunks
- 1 stalkcelery, cut into chunks
- 1bouquet garni of thyme, bay leaf and parsley stalks
- 1 ½ lcold water, approximately
- 1 ½ tspfine salt, plus more to taste
- 8black peppercorns
- 300 gbutton mushrooms, cleaned and quartered
- 20 gunsalted butter, for the mushrooms
- 50 gunsalted butter, for the sauce
- 50 gplain flour
- 150 mldouble cream
- 1egg yolk
- 1 tbspfresh lemon juice
- 2 tbspfinely chopped flat-leaf parsley
Instructions
- 1Place the veal cubes in a 5–6 litre casserole and cover them by 2 cm with cold water, about 1.5 litres. Slowly bring to a gentle simmer over medium heat without allowing the water to boil vigorously. Skim the surface thoroughly for 8–10 minutes to produce a clear stock.
- 2Stud each onion half with a clove. Add the onion, carrots, leek, celery, bouquet garni, salt and peppercorns to the casserole. Partially cover and simmer very gently for 70–80 minutes, until a knife slides easily into the veal.
- 3During the final 15 minutes of cooking, melt 20 g butter in a large frying pan over medium-high heat. Add the mushrooms and sauté for 6–8 minutes, until their liquid has evaporated and they are lightly browned. Remove from the heat and set aside.
- 4Remove the veal and carrots with a slotted spoon, then cover and keep warm. Discard the leek, celery, onion and bouquet garni. Strain the stock through a fine sieve and measure out 750 ml, topping it up with a little water if needed.
- 5Melt 50 g butter in the rinsed casserole over medium-low heat. Add the flour and whisk for 2 minutes without letting it colour. Gradually whisk in the 750 ml hot stock, mixing well after each addition. Bring to a gentle simmer and cook for 8–10 minutes, stirring frequently, until the sauce coats the back of a spoon.
- 6Return the veal, carrots and mushrooms to the sauce. Warm gently for 5 minutes without allowing the sauce to boil vigorously.
- 7Whisk the cream, egg yolk and lemon juice in a bowl. Slowly whisk in one ladleful of hot sauce, then pour the mixture into the casserole. Heat over very low heat for 2–3 minutes, stirring continuously; the sauce should become silky but must not boil, or it may split. Taste, adjust the salt and scatter with parsley before serving.