Veal casserole with mushrooms (Sauté de veau aux champignons)

This is a great classic veal casserole that is part of the repertoire of all good French cooks.

• serves

  4

• prep

  30 minutes

• cook

  1:30 hour

• difficulty

  Mid

If you have the chance to get wild mushrooms, this dish will be even more special.

Ingredients

• 20 g butter
• 600 g veal casserole meat, cut into large cubes (I like to use shank meat)
• ½ brown onion, finely chopped
• 1 tbsp plain flour
• 50 ml dry white wine
• 2 sprigs thyme
• 1 bay leaf
• 125 ml (½ cup) strong veal stock or glaze
• salt and ½ tsp freshly ground black pepper
• 4 baby carrots, scrubbed and halved
• 60 ml (¼ cup) pouring cream
• 1 tbsp vegetable oil
• 300 g mixed mushrooms, cleaned with a damp cloth, larger ones sliced (see note) 
• ¼ cup chopped parsley
• juice of ½ lemon

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 150°C.

Heat the butter in an ovenproof casserole over medium-high heat and brown the veal pieces on all sides. Add the onion and stir for 2-3 minutes. Sprinkle the flour on top and stir well. Add the wine and bring to the boil. Add the thyme, bay leaf and veal stock. Season with salt and pepper, stir well and add the carrots. Cover with foil and a lid and bake for 1 hour or until the meat is very tender.

When the veal is tender, remove from the oven, stir in the cream and bring to a simmer over medium heat.

Meanwhile, heat the oil in a large frying pan over high heat. Cook the mushrooms for 5-6 minutes or until golden and tender. Add the mushrooms to veal, then stir in the parsley and lemon juice and serve.

Note

• I like to use a mixture of Swiss Brown, button and shiitake mushrooms.

• The cooking time for this dish is based on using tender pink veal. If you use a more-aged, red-coloured meat, the cooking time may take twice as long.

Taste le Tour with Gabriel Gaté starts Saturday 7 July 2018 on SBS and then on SBS On Demand and finishes 29 July 2018. Visit the Taste le Tour website to catch-up on episodes, cook up his recipes or find out more about the series.

Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.

If you have the chance to get wild mushrooms, this dish will be even more special.