Chartres-style Blanquette de Veau Recipe / Apple, onion, carrot and veal stew in apple juice and white sauce recipe
This dish hails from Normandy, where cream, butter, apples and calves are abundant. Chartres is not officially in Normandy, but its cuisine is similar.
by Jonell Galloway
1 kilogram or 2 pounds veal shoulder, cut into 2″ x 2″ pieces
12 pearl onions, or the white of 12 small spring onions, peeled and whole
1 apple, chopped
4 carrots, cut into large chunks crosswise
Apple juice
Veal or chicken broth
6 small new potatoes in jacket
4-5 tablespoons flour
2-3tablespoons butter
1/2 liter or 1 quart milk
Italian or flat parsley, chopped
Salt
Pepper
Dutch oven or similar large pan
- Put the veal pieces in Dutch oven.
- Add the onions, apple and carrots.
- Cover with half apple juice and half veal broth. Salt and pepper.
- Simmer gently for 1 hour, then add the whole potatoes.
- Simmer for 30 to 45 minutes, or until the potatoes are cooked.
- Drain broth from meat and reserve it to make white sauce.
- Melt butter in a large, deep frying pan or saucepan. When melted, gradually whisk in 3-4 tablespoons of flour, stirring constantly until the roux starts to gently brown.
- Gradually whip in the milk until sauce starts to thicken. Continue whipping until all the milk is absorbed. It should be extra thick. If not, put one more tablespoon of flour into a ladle and add white sauce to ladle. Mix well to form a smooth paste, then whip this into white sauce.
- Gradually whip the broth from the stew into the white sauce. When smooth and thick, pour this back into the stew.
- Gently mix, turning the meat and vegetables over in white sauce.
- Simmer very gently for 5 minutes, stirring carefully so that meat and vegetables don’t fall apart.
- Serve, sprinkling with chopped parsley.
Note: This is often served with rice. If you prefer rice, leave out the potatoes. Small turnips can also be added at the beginning, as well as other vegetables, according to taste.
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by Rosa Mayland
