Blanquette de Veau

Blanquette de Veau
Serves 6

2½ pounds veal shoulder, in 2-inch cubes
2 quarts veal or chicken broth, warm
1 large carrot, peeled, in 3-inch chunks
3 leeks, cleaned, trimmed to 4 inches with 2 outer layers removed
1 stalk celery, in 2-inch pieces
18 medium-size white mushrooms, trimmed
1 bouquet garni (bay leaf, thyme branch, 10 sprigs flat-leaf parsley)
1 cup heavy cream
1 10-oz bag small pearl onions, blanched and peeled
2 large egg yolks
1½ cups basmati or jasmine rice, steamed
1½ tbsp lemon juice
Salt
Freshly ground white pepper
Flat-leaf parsley leaves for garnish


Place veal in a 4-quart casserole. Add broth and bring to a boil. Skim all scum from surface. Reduce heat to low. Add carrot, leeks, celery, and bouquet garni. Season with salt. Simmer 1 hour on very low heat. Add mushrooms and onions. Simmer 30 minutes more. Remove from heat and let rest for 30 minutes.

Remove meat and vegetables to a large bowl, draining well, discarding leeks and bouquet garni. Cover with plastic wrap. Strain cooking liquid into a separate bowl and clean pan. Return liquid to pan and reduce by half, about 5 minutes. Stir in cream. Simmer for 10 minutes, until slightly thickened. Beat egg yolks in a bowl and slowly beat in about half a cup sauce to warm yolks. Slowly whisk egg yolk mixture into pan, remove from heat, and keep whisking until sauce has a creamy consistency. Add lemon juice and season with salt and pepper.

Return meat, celery, mushrooms, and onions to pan. Slice carrots ½-inch thick and add. Bring barely to a simmer, stirring, until ingredients are just warmed through. Do not allow sauce to boil or egg yolks will curdle. Check seasonings, garnish with parsley, and serve with rice

Recipe of the week: French cuisine makes a comeback

The obituaries for classic French cuisine in America were premature, said Florence Fabricant in The New York Times. In 2004, three New York temples of high-end French culinary tradition—La Côte Basque, Lutèce, and La Caravelle—closed. It was only a matter of time before dishes such as lobster thermidor, escargots, and cassoulet became obsolete. "Or so it seemed." Now a new generation of chefs, including such superstars as Alain Ducasse, Daniel Boulud, and Keith McNally, is bringing traditional French cuisine "back in style." One new restaurant that features classic French dishes is Brasserie Cognac in midtown. Chef Florian Hugo, a great-great-great-grandson of the novelist Victor Hugo, avoids shortcuts when preparing his blanquette de veau. This adapted version takes three hours, plus 30 minutes' resting.