Two meals - two different ways with veal

August 10, 2006

My local market has been undergoing a facelift over the past year. It was chaos for a while in the aisle housing the delis, butchers and fishmongers. Builders’ barricades would go up and businesses would disappear for a few weeks while new premises were built.

At last things are returning to normal and there is now a great selection of gleaming new butchers’ shops and poulterers to choose from. The opposition keeps them all competitive and there are plenty of bargains for those with time to shop around.

One butcher had generous trays of sliced red veal for $5.95 last week so I tucked some in my granny trolley for today’s dish. I'd seen them the previous week when shopping with The Spouse whose eyes glazed over as he reminisced hopefully about the joys of wiener schnitzel. It was a bit like watching a puppy sitting by the dinner table waiting for a tasty morsel to fall.

Schnitzel was a favourite dish when our two sons were living at home. But the three males had very healthy schnitzel appetites so I would have to make a pile and end up doing the thing I least enjoy in the kitchen - frying. Whenver schnitzel was requested, I would usually fob them off about how it wasn't good for them - all those breadcrumbs soaking up the oil, no matter how delicious the end product. Fact is I like it myself so this week I bought some meat today's dish (which I ate for lunch once I'd photographed it) and the remainder to keep The Spouse in gustatory seventh heaven that evening.

First we have Meal One:

Sometimes it’s good to dress up an otherwise simple meal by putting a little effort into the vegetable preparation. Try a different method of presentation – slice zucchini into ribbons, dice root vegetables instead of slicing them, shred Brussels sprouts (or check out this recipe). Carrots are always a useful addition to a dinner plate, adding colour. 

Tie little carrot sticks into bundles and they will grace any meal. The bundles can be tied with chives or garlic chives. The secret is to blanch the chives in boiling water or zap them in the microwave for a few seconds. They will then be supple enough to wind round the bundle of carrots and tie without breaking.  Don’t worry about trying to tie them too tightly – just insert another carrot stick or two into the tied bundle to take up the slack.

The easiest way to cook the prepared bundles is to microwave them in the serving dish so they are not disturbed while cooking.

Veal with Lemon Sauce and Carrot Bundles

6 veal schnitzels
flour
3 tablespoons olive oil
juice of one lemon
3 tablespoons butter
seasoning

Beat the veal slices with a meat mallet if you think it is necessary, or if you are using beef schnitzels. Pat the meat dry with a paper towels then sprinkle flour on each side. Heat the oil in a large pan and cook the meat on high for one minute on each side. If you can’t cook all the meat at once,  place in a serving dish and keep hot.

Pour off any excess oil then add the lemon juice and butter to the pan and swirl them around until they emulsify. Pour over the veal and serve immediately.

Now on to Meal Two:

Wiener Schnitzel

The meat can be pounded with a meat mallet to soften up the connective tissue and ensure rapid cooking. Next step is to dip it in beaten egg, shake off the excess then dip in dry breadrumbs or breadcrumb-based seasoned stuffing mix. Cook a couple of minutes each side in shallow oil until the crumbs are crisping up and turning golden. Drain on paper towels and keep warm in the oven (on fresh paper towels) until all the meat is cooked.

Normally I would serve this with an iceberg lettuce salad with plenty of tomatoes, cucumber and spring onions but The Spouse put in his order for vegetables - baby potatoes, carrot and parsnip mash and fresh broccoli from the market.

Fairly similar ingredients but one meal is a little dressier than the other...

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