Veal Breast With Farfel Stuffing Recipes

STUFFED BREAST OF VEAL

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
• Heat vegetable oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Stir in the mushrooms, and cook for 1 or 2 minutes until they begin to soften. Add the carrot, celery, and onion; cook and stir until the carrot begins to soften, 5 to 10 minutes. Turn the heat off, and stir in the garlic and parsley; set aside.
• Beat the eggs and water with salt and pepper in a large bowl. Fold in the bread cubes until they absorb the egg mixture, then fold in the cooked vegetables; set aside. Cut a deep pocket into the veal breast with a long, narrow knife. Stuff the veal with the bread and vegetable mixture, and season with paprika, onion powder, garlic powder, salt, and pepper. Place onto a roasting pan, and cover loosely with aluminum foil.
• Bake in preheated oven for 3 1/2 hours, then remove the foil, baste with pan drippings, and continue cooking 30 minutes more. When done, tent with aluminum foil, and allow the veal breast to rest for 15 minutes before slicing.

STUFFED BRAISED VEAL BREAST

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
• Coat a large straight-sided saute pan with olive oil. Smash 2 of the whole garlic cloves with the heel of your hand and toss them into the pan with a pinch of crushed red pepper. Bring the pan to a medium-high heat. When the garlic is golden brown and very aromatic, remove it from the pan and discard it, it has fulfilled its garlic destiny.
• Add the spinach to the pan, stir to coat the oil and season with salt. Cover the pan and cook for 2 to 3 minutes. Remove the lid from the pan and stir the spinach, it should be wilted. Taste and adjust the seasoning if needed. Transfer the spinach to a mesh strainer to let any excess water drain out.
• Return the pan to the burner and coat the pan with olive oil and add in 2 more garlic cloves that have been smashed with the heel of your hand. Repeat the process of cooking the garlic to golden brown and discarding. Toss in a pinch of crushed red pepper and the sliced mushrooms. Season the mushrooms with salt and cook until they are soft and wilted, add a little more oil if they are a little dry. Taste the mushrooms and adjust the seasoning if needed. Remove from the heat and let cool.
• Squeeze out any excess liquid from the wilted spinach and coarsely chop. Add to the mushrooms, toss in the Parmigiano and stir to combine. Taste to make sure it is delicious. Reserve.
• Lay the meat out and gently pound to flatten. Sprinkle generously with salt. Lay the prosciutto slices down the middle of the veal. Lay a log of the spinach and mushroom mixture down the middle of the prosciutto. Roll the veal around the prosciutto and tie the veal with butcher's twine.
• Coat a Dutch oven with olive oil and bring to a medium-high heat. Add the veal roll and brown on all sides. Remove the veal from the pan and reserve.
• Ditch any excess fat and add a few drops of new oil. Add the onions to the pan, stir to coat with the oil and season with salt. Lower the heat to medium and cook the onions, covered, for 7 to 8 minutes.
• Uncover the onions, they should be very soft and wilted. Add the chopped garlic and rosemary and cook for 2 to 3 minutes. Add the wine and reduce by half.
• Return the veal to the pan and add chicken stock until it comes about halfway up the sides of the veal. Toss in the bay leaves and thyme bundle. Cover and place in the oven and cook for 1 hour.
• Remove the veal from the oven, turn over and add more stock if the liquid has reduced. Taste the braising liquid if the liquid level has reduced significantly. Cook for 1 hour.
• Remove the lid from the Dutch oven and braise for another 45 minutes to allow the liquid to reduce.
• Remove the veal from the oven, remove from the pan, cover with foil and let rest for 15 minutes. Place the Dutch oven on a burner over medium heat to reduce the braising liquid if it is too soupy. Taste the liquid to make sure the seasoning is correct.
• Slice the veal into medallions and serve with the braising liquid and onions.
• Wine Pairing Suggestion: Gavi

WHOLE ROASTED BREAST OF VEAL

Steps:

• Vaguely trim breast - just the fat globs on the rib cage and any especially skanky skin, if it even exists. If the blue U.S.D.A. ink stamp on the flesh offends you, remove it.
• Place breast in a deep roasting pan large enough to accommodate it, and season meat thoroughly and assertively with salt, all over, turning the breast ribs-side up as well, seasoning with salt all over. Do the same thing, less assertively by half, with ground black pepper. Set breast back in pan ribs-side down, and season the flesh side extremely conservatively with both ground juniper and ground allspice. A light hand here, please. Strip a few pinches of fresh thyme leaves from their stems, and scatter over the veal. Drizzle generously with the oil, allowing some to pool in roasting pan.
• Let the veal sit at room temperature to shake the chill from the refrigerator while you prepare the potatoes.
• Peel and cut into wedges 4 Yukon Gold potatoes, and scatter around in pan. Peel and halve the onion, and slice into 1/3-inch-thick half-moons. Scatter onion around in pan on top of potatoes. Keep potato and onion under the meat, not on top of it, so that breast can fully brown and get a crisp skin.
• Fill roasting pan 2 inches deep with water and white wine, in equal parts. Set in 275-degree oven, and let roast for up to 12 hours, depending on weight. Remove when it is deeply golden brown and soft and tender. You don't want it falling off the bone, but you should be able to see how loose and relaxed it has become in the layers. You may need to tent the pan with foil for the first or the last 45 minutes of roasting to give it a little braise time for the deepest interior, recalcitrant parts. Conversely, you may want to turn up the oven and give it a 30-minute finish in a hot oven to get better color.
• Pick out vertebrae. Slice off ribs. Then portion as you wish, using a sharp knife big enough for the job. Include the potatoes and onions and the liquid from the pan when you serve.

STUFFED BREAST OF VEAL

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Rinse the veal and pat dry. Season with salt and pepper. Make the stuffing: In a saucepan of boiling salted water, blanch the sweet potato, white potato, carrot, celery, and onion for 2 minutes. Drain and pat dry. In a skillet set over moderate heat, cook the pork in 1 tablespoon of oil, stirring, just until no longer pink. Transfer to a bowl and let cool. Add the blanched vegetables, the remaining oil, rice, cheese, eggs, parsley, and salt and pepper to the pork and stir to combine well. Fill the pocket with stuffing and seal by sewing up or securing with toothpicks. Arrange the veal on a rack in a roasting pan, brush with oil, and season with paprika, salt and pepper. Add enough water to measure 1 inch in the pan and roast, covered with foil, for 2 1/2 hours. Remove the foil and continue to roast, basting with pan juices, for 30 minutes more. Transfer the veal to a cutting board and let it stand, loosely covered, for 10 minutes before slicing.

PROVENçAL ROASTED GARLIC-BRAISED BREAST OF VEAL WITH SPRINGTIME STUFFING

Steps:

• Prepare the stuffing:
• Bring a large pot full of lightly salted water to a boil. Add the chard and spinach, bring the water back to a boil, and cook for 2 to 3 minutes until thoroughly wilted. Drain and squeeze out as much moisture as possible, pressing the greens against a colander with a wooden spoon. Or for a more thorough job, use your hands when the greens have cooled somewhat. Finely chop, either by hand or by pulsing in a food processor.
• In a large skillet, sauté the minced garlic in 3 tablespoons of the oil over moderate heat until pale gold, 2 to 3 minutes. Add the chard and spinach. Cook, stirring, over medium heat, until the liquid is evaporated and the garlic is thoroughly distributed, 5 to 7 minutes. The greens should be very tender. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Transfer to a large bowl and set aside.
• Preheat the oven to 375°F.
• Sauté the onion in a heavy, medium saucepan over medium heat in 3 tablespoons of the oil until softened, 7 to 10 minutes. Add the rice and stir to coat the grains with the onions. In another saucepan, bring the broth to a simmer. Add the broth to the rice a few spoonfuls at a time, as if making risotto. Keep the heat medium-low, and stir, waiting until the broth is nearly absorbed before adding another spoonful. Cook the rice until just tender, 15 to 20 minutes in all. If you finish adding the broth and the rice is not yet tender, add a tablespoon or two of hot water, as needed. Season the rice with salt and pepper (taking in to account the saltiness of the broth you are using), add it to the chard and spinach, and set aside to cool.
• Prepare the garlic head:
• Break the head into single cloves and put them, unpeeled, into a small baking dish in which they fit snugly (I use a 5-inch-square porcelain ramekin). Drizzle with 2 teaspoons of the oil and 1 teaspoon of the thyme. Cover tightly (use foil if you don't have a lid), and roast for 30 to 45 minutes, until a soft puree is formed when you squeeze a clove. Avoid overcooking, which turns the garlic bitter. Squeeze the puree out by hand or run the unpeeled cloves through a food mill to trap the peels. Put the roasted garlic puree in a small bowl and add 1 tablespoon of the rosemary and the lemon juice. Stir well and set aside. Turn off the oven-you will be pan-braising the meat.
• While the garlic is roasting, finish the stuffing:
• In a food processor, pulse the remaining 1 tablespoon each of rosemary and thyme, the parsley, mint, and lemon zest until finely chopped. Add to the rice mixture. Stir in the egg until well combined.
• Trim the veal of gristle and as much fat as possible. Sprinkle salt and pepper all over, including the inside pocket. Fill the pocket with the stuffing, pushing the mixture as far in as possible, but don't overfill-it will expand somewhat while cooking. Sew the pocket closed. (A large embroidery needle and strong cotton thread or unwaxed dental floss work very well here. Or use a trussing needle and kitchen twine. I find skewering not as successful here-the stuffing is more likely to ooze out into the pan gravy.)
• In a 6-quart Dutch oven or heavy casserole just large enough to accommodate the veal, heat the remaining 2 tablespoons oil until hot, but not smoking. Add the veal and brown it slowly on all sides, turning carefully with wooden spoons so you don't piece the meat. When it is thoroughly browned, arrange the meat so that the fat side is up. Spread the roasted garlic mixtue all over the top. Add the wine and bring to a slow bubble. Place the lid slightly askew, and braise at a slow simmer over very low heat for 2 1/2 to 3 hours, or longer, if necessary, until the meat is very tender. Use a flame tamer (blech) or stack two stove burner grates , if you must to keep the flame very low. Every 20 minutes or so, baste with the pan juices. If possible, turn the meat a few times; don't worry about losing the roasted garlic coating on top-it will add delicious flavor to the cooking juices.
• Transfer the veal to a platter, and let it stand for 10 minutes, tented with foil to keep warm. Boil up the cooking juices for a few minutes to concentrate the flavors, taste for seasoning, then transfer to a sauce boat.
• Slice the veal about 1/2-inch thick, making sure that the slices enclose some of the filling. Nap with some of the juices. Pass remaining sauce separately.
• Ashkenazi Mashed Potato Stuffing Variation:
• Don't pass by this fabulous veal because your family refrains from eating rice on Passover. When my agent Elise Goodman wanted to prepare it for her seder, we came up with a wonderful alternative mashed potato stuffing.
• Prepare the stuffing according to the directions above, omitting rice and broth. Sauté the onion until rice gold and set aside. Simmer 3 1/2 cups russet or Yukon gold potatoes, peeled and cubed, in cold, salted water to cover, until tender, about 15 minutes. Drain and mash the potatoes until smooth. Stir in the reserved sautéed onion (along with any oil remaining in the pan), and 1 additional tablespoon olive oil, and season to taste with salt and pepper. Add the potato mixture to the chard and spinach, set aside to cool, and continue with the recipe.

BRAISED VEAL BREAST WITH POTATO-AND-ONION STUFFING

Steps:

• Make stuffing:
• Cover potatoes with salted cold water by 1 inch in a 4-quart pot, then briskly simmer, uncovered, over moderate heat until just tender, 25 to 30 minutes.
• While potatoes simmer, cook onion in oil in a 12-inch heavy skillet over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until well browned, 10 to 12 minutes. Transfer to a bowl.
• Drain potatoes in a colander and, when cool enough to handle, peel, then thinly slice. Add potatoes, salt, and pepper to onion and coarsely mash with a fork. Cool to warm and stir in egg and dill until combined. Cool completely, uncovered.
• Stuff and braise veal:
• Cut a 7- by 5-inch pocket in center of meat parallel to bone, leaving a 1/2-inch border of meat all around. Loosely fill pocket with potato stuffing and sew pocket closed on cut side with needle and kitchen string (and sew any tears).
• Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 350°F.
• Pat veal dry and rub all over with salt and pepper. Heat oil in a wide 5- to 6-quart heavy pot over moderate heat until hot but not smoking, then brown veal, meat side down, 5 to 7 minutes. Turn veal over and add wine. Boil, uncovered, until wine is reduced by half, about 4 minutes. Add broth and bay leaves and return to a boil. Cover pot tightly with lid and transfer to oven, then braise until meat is very tender, about 2 hours.
• Make sauce and slice veal:
• Transfer veal to a cutting board using a large wide metal spatula and let stand, loosely covered with foil, 15 minutes.
• Discard bay leaves and skim off fat from pan juices. Bring pan juices to a boil. Whisk together cream and cornstarch in a small bowl and whisk into pan juices. Simmer, stirring occasionally, until slightly thickened, 2 to 3 minutes. If desired, pour through a fine-mesh sieve into a bowl (discard solids). Stir in dill, lemon juice, and salt and pepper to taste.
• Discard kitchen string from veal and cut meat from bones by holding knife against bone as you cut. Transfer stuffed meat to a cutting board and slice lengthwise 1 inch thick. Cut between ribs to separate. Serve veal slices and ribs with sauce.

MATZO-STUFFED BREAST OF VEAL

Steps:

• Make stuffing:
• Cook onions, carrots, and celery in oil in a wide 3 1/2- to 5-quart heavy pot over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until vegetables begin to brown, 8 to 10 minutes.
• While vegetables are cooking, put matzos in a colander and run under hot water until softened.
• Remove pot from heat and transfer half of vegetables to a bowl. Cool vegetables in bowl 5 minutes, then stir in matzos, parsley, egg, salt, and pepper.
• Prepare veal while stuffing cools:
• Preheat oven to 350°F.
• Trim as much excess fat as possible from veal. Cut a large pocket in veal breast: Beginning at center of thickest side, insert a large knife horizontally and cut into center of veal as evenly as possible, leaving a 1-inch border on 3 sides.
• Purée onion, garlic, oil, paprika, salt, and pepper in a food processor or blender. Put veal breast on a cutting board and rub inside of pocket with 2 tablespoons purée. Fill pocket loosely with matzo stuffing, leaving a 1-inch border on cut side. Sew pocket closed with carpet needle and kitchen string.
• Pat veal dry and rub both sides with remaining purée. Put thyme sprigs over vegetables remaining in pot, then top with veal. Add water and bring to a boil.
• Cover pot with lid and braise in middle of oven until meat is very tender, 3 to 3 1/2 hours. Transfer veal with a wide metal spatula to a clean cutting board and let stand, loosely covered with foil, 30 minutes.
• Discard thyme sprigs and skim any fat from sauce. Discard string, then cut veal across the grain into 1-inch-thick slices and serve with sauce.

VEAL BREAST WITH WATERCRESS STUFFING

Steps:

• Wipe the meat well with a damp cloth.
• Rinse the watercress well and drop it into boiling water. Let stand about 10 seconds. Drain well and, when cool enough to handle, squeeze it to extract excess moisture. Chop it and set aside.
• Put the pork in a deep saucepan and add the two cups of chopped onion and the finely minced garlic. Cook, stirring, about five minutes and add the mushrooms, chopped thyme and chopped bay leaf. Cook, stirring occasionally, about 15 minutes. Add the chopped watercress and stir to blend well. Remove from the heat. Stir in the bread crumbs and add the beaten eggs, salt and pepper to taste. Stir and let cool.
• Meanwhile, preheat oven to 400 degrees.
• Stuff the veal with the watercress mixture and sew up the pocket all around to enclose the filling. Sprinkle the meat on all sides with salt and pepper to taste.
• Heat the butter in a heavy skillet or roasting pan and add the veal, skin side down and bone side up. Bake 15 minutes and turn the meat skin side up. Bake 15 minutes longer.
• Scatter the celery, green peppers, coarsely chopped onion, coarsely chopped garlic, whole bay leaf, thyme sprigs and tomatoes around, but not on top of, the meat. Cover closely with foil and bake one hour.
• Reduce the oven heat to 350 degrees. Uncover the meat and bake 30 minutes longer. Let stand about 10 minutes before slicing. Serve with vegetables in sauce surrounding the roast.

STUFFED BREAST OF VEAL

Steps:

• Have the butcher trim the breast of excess fat, cut a pocket into it and crack the large, flat chine bone to which the ribs are attached to make carving easier.
• Heat the fat in a large skillet. Add the onions and saute slowly until they are soft but not brown. Stir in the matzoh meal, apples, parsley, salt and pepper. Mix well. Add enough water to make the mixture moist, so it holds together without being gummy. You should have about four cups of stuffing. Remove from the heat and allow to cool.
• Just before cooking, stuff the pocket of the veal with the stuffing and skewer the opening closed.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• Scatter the sliced onions, garlic and carrots in the bottom of a large roasting pan. Place the stuffed breast of veal on top and rub it with salt and pepper. Add enough water to the pan to cover the vegetables but not the roast. Cover the pan with aluminum foil, place in the oven and roast for two hours. Uncover the roast and roast for another hour or so, until the top is crisp and brown.
• Transfer the roast to a large carving board.
• With a slotted spoon remove the vegetables from the roasting pan and place them in a sieve suspended over a bowl. Skim as much fat as possible from the juices remaining in the roasting pan. Press the vegetables through the sieve and stir them back into the juices in the roasting pan. Place over medium high heat and cook, stirring and scraping the pan to loosen any particles clinging to the roasting pan. Taste the sauce for seasoning.
• Slice the roast into portions, cutting down between the ribs. Arrange the slices, each with a rib and stuffing, on a serving platter. Pass the sauce on the side. To serve a half portion, cut the slice of meat and stuffing away from the bone and divide it in half.

VEAL BREAST WITH SPINACH STUFFING

Steps:

• Sprinkle the veal breast inside and out with salt and pepper to taste
• Chop together on a flat, heavy surface the half teaspoon dried thyme, half a bay leaf and one teaspoon chopped garlic. Set aside.
• Heat one tablespoon of the olive oil in a skillet and add the finely chopped onion. Cook, stirring, until wilted and add the ground veal and pork. Cook, stirring and chopping down with the side of a heavy metal kitchen spoon to break up lumps in the meats. Add the garlic mixture and mushrooms and cook, stirring, about five minutes.
• Add the spinach and cook until wilted. Add the bread crumbs, ricotta cheese and egg. Add the nutmeg, salt and pepper to taste and pepper flakes. Stir to blend well. Let cool.
• Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
• Open up the pocket of the breast. Fill the pocket with the mixture. Sew up the pocket all around with string to enclose the filling. Rub the bottom of a baking dish with the tablespoon of corn oil.
• Put the breast in the baking dish and rub it all over with the remaining one tablespoon of olive oil. Place the breast, bone side down, in the baking dish and place in the oven. Bake 30 minutes.
• Add the sliced carrots, celery and coarsely chopped onion. Continue baking 30 minutes.
• Meanwhile, tie the three sprigs of parsley, two sprigs of thyme and remaining bay leaf into a bundle. Add this to the veal.
• Add the tomatoes, wine and garlic clove. Cover the meat loosely with foil and continue baking about 30 minutes.
• Reduce the oven heat to 350 degrees. Remove the foil and baste well. Continue baking 30 minutes. The total baking time is two hours. Transfer the meat to a warm serving platter.
• When ready to serve, add the broth or water to the pan. Bring to the boil on top of the stove. Stir to dissolve the brown particles that cling to the bottom and sides of the pan. Discard the bundle of herbs amd garlic clove.
• Remove the string from the veal. Carve the veal and serve with the vegetables in sauce surrounding the roast.

PROVENçAL VEAL BREAST STUFFED WITH SWISS CHARD

Steps:

• Make the filling: In a large skillet, heat 4 tablespoons of the olive oil over medium heat. Add diced onions, season with salt and pepper and sauté until softened. Mix in the chopped garlic, thyme and rosemary. A few handfuls at a time, stir in the chard and, using tongs to toss, cook with the onion mixture until all the greens are soft, about 10 minutes. Turn off the heat and use a slotted spoon to transfer chard mixture to a large bowl. Stir in tomatoes, egg and matzo pieces, mixing well. You will have at least 5 cups cooked filling.
• Heat oven to 375 degrees. Lay the meat flat on a clean work surface, season the top with salt and pepper and spread a thin layer of the filling (about half) evenly over the surface of the meat, leaving a 1-inch border. Reserve and refrigerate the remaining stuffing. Tightly roll the meat and secure it with kitchen twine, making a knot every 1 1/2 inches and tucking the meat in to enclose the ends. Season the outside of the roll with salt and pepper.
• Add the remaining olive oil to the skillet, turn the heat to medium-high and brown the stuffed veal on all sides. Transfer to a large roasting pan with a lid. (If your skillet isn't large enough, brown veal directly in the roasting pan, laid over 2 burners of your stovetop.) To the pan where you browned the meat, add wine and simmer for about a minute, scraping up any browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Spoon liquid over the meat. Scatter the carrots, large onion pieces and whole garlic cloves around the veal, place the bones, and pour in about 8 cups of water or enough to come halfway up the meat.
• Reduce oven to 325 degrees and cook, covered, 2 1/2 hours, basting every 20 minutes or so, until veal is cooked through and tender, 165 degrees on a meat thermometer.
• Remove the meat from the pan, set aside to cool, then refrigerate overnight. Strain the sauce, reserving the carrots and discarding the bones and the onions. Refrigerate sauce and carrots.
• The next day (or when ready to serve), remove and discard the fat from the sauce and simmer sauce in a small pot until reduced by 1/3. Season with salt and pepper. Using a long sharp knife, slice the veal into 1-inch portions. (Pull out kitchen twine as necessary). Carefully transfer slices to a large ovenproof serving dish or roasting pan, scatter the reserved stuffing around the veal and pour the braising liquid and carrots over the top. (You can refrigerate the whole dish at this point, to be reheated just before serving, or proceed to reheat the meat now.)
• Just before serving, reheat in a 350-degree oven, covered with foil, about 20 minutes or until heated through. Serve in individual portions or on a platter, with a little chard stuffing and carrots on top of each slice for color, and drizzled with some of the braising liquid.