Blanquette de Veau with Leeks and Chanterelle Mushrooms

Daria Souvorova

2 hours
serves: 6-9

Every recipe has a different inspiration, doesn’t it? Sometimes you taste something amazing while travelling or at a favorite restaurant and HAVE to recreate it. Other times, leftover ingredients spur the creation of something new and unexpected, and occasionally, you get a request!

I was spending the last few days of our winter vacation in Paris and chatting with friends to plan the de-installation of a show we were all participating in. My current location came to be the topic of conversation, and a dear friend reminisced about a Blanquette de Veau she ate at Auberge Bressane in Paris. Since the girls were spending the night this past weekend, I offered to make the dish for them.

Have I ever made this particular dish, no… but I know the idea. Blanquette de veau translates to the whiteness of the veal. Generally, when you cook a stew, you sear and brown all of your veggies and meats, in this dish, nothing is browned to create a creamy and white consistency. It is a beautiful idea and a very comforting dish, especially in the winter.

I have seen people use a variety of veggies within the dish, from turnips and carrots, to green beans. I decided I liked the idea of carrots but wanted the sweetness and velvety texture of leeks.

The dish is incomplete without some mushrooms. White button mushrooms definitely fit the bill and are the traditional mushrooms used for this dish. They fit the theme of whiteness you see. I chose to use chanterelle mushrooms because I am not a huge fan of white button mushrooms and try to upgrade them wherever I can.

Serve this dish over some rice or pasta. Ours went wonderfully with some al-dente spaghetti.

**I love the taste with the egg yolks,
but that is why the sauce is a bit more yellow than white. If you want a perfectly white sauce, do not add egg yolks.

Ingredients:

• • • • olive oil
      • 3 pounds veal shoulder, 1 1/2 inch cubes or so
      • 8 teaspoons chicken stock concentrate plus 8 cups water
      • 1 large or 2 small onions
      • 6 cloves
      • 3 cloves garlic
      • bouquet garnis: 8 parsley sprigs and 5 sprigs thyme
      • 2 bay leaves
      • salt and pepper
      • 4 leeks, white parts only, halved lengthwise and crosswise
      • 4 carrots, cut into 1 1/2 inch lengths
      • 2 large handfuls of chanterelle mushrooms, rehydrated, broth reserved
      • juice of 1/2 lemon
      • 1 1/2 cup pearl onions, peeled and trimmed
      • 1/2 cup cream + 2 tasblespoons
      • 1/3 cup flour
      • 6 tablespoons butter
      • 3 egg yolks**
      • chopped parsley to serve
• 

2. In a large Dutch oven, cover veal with cold water and bring to simmer. Cook for 2 minutes. Drain and rinse with cold water.
3. Return meat to the pot.
   Add chicken stock concentrate and water.
   Peel the onions and stab the cloves into one of them so they stay put.
   Add the onions, cloves, garlic, bay leaves, and bouquet garnis.
   Bring to simmer, lower heat. cover, and cook on low for about 1 hour or a bit longer until tender.
4. Meanwhile, combine 2 tablespoons of butter, pearl onions, carrots,
   leeks, mushrooms and 1 cup of mushroom broth (or chicken stock if you did not have enough).
   Cover and cook for about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until most of the liquid had evaporated.
5. Drain the veal and reserve the liquid.
   Combine the veal and veggies in the Dutch oven.
6. In a small pot, melt the remaining 4 tablespoons of butter. Whisk in flour.
   Add 3 1/2 or so cuos of the reserved cooking broth.
   Bring to simmer, and turn heat to low.
   Lower heat and whisk continuously until thickened, about 8 minutes or so.
   Add 2 tablespoons of cream, lemon juice, and season with salt and pepper.
7. Combine remaining 1/2 cup cream with the egg yolks. Whisk to combine.
   Add a bit of the thickened sauce to the egg yolks to temper, and then combine the egg cream mixture into the sauce.
8. Combine meat, veggies, and sauce. Season to taste with salt and pepper and serve.