Name: Blanquette de Veau (Creamy Veal Stew)
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 70 min
Total time: 90 min
Yield: 2 servings
Cuisine: French
Ingredients: 400 g Veal Stew Meat, cut into large cubes; 120 g Button Mushrooms, halved; 1 Carrot, thickly sliced; 1 Onion, halved; 1 Celery, stalk, chopped; 1 Bay Laurel Leaf, whole; ½ tsp Thyme, fresh or dried leaves; 500 ml Chicken Stock, warm; 1 tbsp Butter; 1 tbsp All-Purpose Flour; 80 ml Heavy Whipping Cream; 1 Egg, yolk only; 1 tsp Lemon Juice; 1 tbsp Parsley, chopped; to taste Salt; ¼ tsp Black Peppercorns, freshly crushed

1 hr 30 mintotal

Prep 20 min · Cook 1 hr 10 min

Serves: 2
Difficulty: Medium
Spice: None

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Method

Place the veal stew meat in a pot with carrot, onion, celery, bay leaf, thyme, warm chicken stock, salt, and black pepper.
Simmer gently until the veal is tender, skimming the surface if needed so the broth stays clean.
Add the button mushrooms and cook until just tender. Remove the bay leaf and onion halves.
In a small pan, melt the measured butter. Stir in the measured flour and cook briefly without browning.
Whisk some hot cooking liquid into the flour mixture, then return it to the stew and simmer until lightly thickened.
Whisk the heavy whipping cream with the egg yolk and lemon juice. Stir it into the stew over low heat without boiling hard.
Finish with parsley and serve hot.

How to tell it's done

The veal should be tender and the sauce smooth, pale, creamy, and lightly coating.

Getting it right

Tip

Keep the sauce pale and gentle; Blanquette de veau should not taste roasted or deeply browned.

What to serve it with

Serve with steamed rice, boiled potatoes, or buttered noodles.

Common mistakes

The sauce curdles or loses its pale color.: Do not brown the veal, and stir in the cream-yolk mixture over low heat without boiling.

Substitutions

Chicken Stock can be replaced with a mild veal or vegetable stock if available.
Do not boil hard after adding the cream and egg yolk, or the sauce may split.
Button Mushroom can be replaced with another mild mushroom, but flavor and texture may vary.

Storing and reheating

Refrigerate blanquette de veau for up to 3 days. Reheat very gently and avoid boiling; freezing is not recommended because the cream sauce can split.

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Ingredients