Neil Perry's braised veal with orange gremolata

Name: Neil Perry's braised veal with orange gremolata
Cook time: 1 h 30 min
Yield: 4
Cuisine: European
Ingredients: 800g veal shoulder, cut into 3cm cubes; 2 tbsp plain flour; 80ml extra virgin olive oil; 30g unsalted butter; 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped; 1 small leek, white part finely chopped; sea salt; 250ml red or dry white wine; 1.25L chicken stock; 1 tbsp tomato paste; 400g can whole tomatoes, chopped; 2 rosemary sprigs; 2 thyme sprigs; 1 fresh bay leaf; 8 baby onions, peeled; 8 baby carrots, peeled; freshly ground black pepper

Neil Perry

June 5, 2019

Braised veal with orange gremolata William Meppem

Time:1-2 hoursServes:4

This is a perfect slow-cooking winter braise, brought to life by the zing of the gremolata, a beautiful Italian combination of lemon, parsley and garlic. Here I have made it with orange instead. It's great to add to just about any braised food, or you could sprinkle it on roast chicken to spark it up. I'd serve this with soft polenta, pasta or steamed rice and a green salad or some boiled broccoli.

Ingredients

800g veal shoulder, cut into 3cm cubes
2 tbsp plain flour
80ml extra virgin olive oil
30g unsalted butter
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 small leek, white part finely chopped
sea salt
250ml red or dry white wine
1.25L chicken stock
1 tbsp tomato paste
400g can whole tomatoes, chopped
2 rosemary sprigs
2 thyme sprigs
1 fresh bay leaf
8 baby onions, peeled
8 baby carrots, peeled
freshly ground black pepper

FOR THE GREMOLATA

2 large handfuls flat-leaf parsley, roughly chopped
finely grated zest of 1 orange, without any pith
1 clove garlic, minced

Method

1. For the gremolata, put all the ingredients in a bowl and mix well.
2. Put the flour on a large plate and roll the veal shoulder cubes in it to coat.
3. Heat the oil and butter in a large, heavy-based saucepan and cook the veal in batches until browned all over; be careful not to burn the flour. Remove the veal from the pan. Add the garlic, leek and sea salt and cook for 5 minutes until soft. Pour in the wine and simmer until reduced by half.
4. Add the stock and bring to a simmer. Add the tomato paste, canned tomatoes and herbs and stir well. Return the veal to the saucepan and simmer very gently for 1 hour with a lid on. Add the onions and carrots and cook for a further hour, stirring occasionally, until the veal is very tender.
5. Remove from the heat and discard the herbs. Divide among 4 bowls, making sure each dish gets two baby carrots and two onions. Sprinkle with gremolata and add pepper.