Veal Shank With Sour Cherries

Here's PB and J's recipe for the veal shank they cooked for the Gastronati's former USSR evening. They served it with egg noodles, but it would also go well with potatoes or rice.

Veal Shank With Sour Cherries

1 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
4 Tbsp butter
4 slices veal shank
salt and pepper to taste
1 large onion, roughly chopped
1/2 cup chopped carrot
10 green cardamom pods, crushed (you can also use white cardamom)
One 16 or 17 ounce jar of sour cherries with their juice
1 cup veal stock (beef or chicken will work, too)
1 tsp grated lemon zest

Combine oil and butter in skillet at low heat and brown the outside of the veal shank on medium-high heat. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Reduce heat to medium and remove the meat. Add the onions and carrots, cook and stir occasionally until the veggies soften. Stir in the cardamom, then the cherries and finally the juice along with the stock.

Return the veal shank to the skillet and cover. Cook until the meat is very tender and pulling away from bone (at least 90 minutes). Stir occasionally and turn the meat.

If the sauce is thin, remove the meat and turn the heat to high to thicken.

Stir in the lemon zest.

Veal stew with cipollini onions

Veal stew with cipollini onions, originally uploaded by beFOODled.

The Gastronati met again! This time we feasted on Italian fare. This stew, again from Giada De Laurentiis' Giada's Family Dinners, was my contribution to our sumptuous smorgasbord. Stay tuned for more on Italian Night - I am just waiting for Calimocho to send me the pics as S's camera was out of juice that night.

My favourite thing about this stew is that it's a one-pot meal - easy peasy and just one vessel to clean up. My second favourite thing is the cipollini onions. It's rare to get the chance to eat things as cute as cipollini onions. Plus I just like saying cheep-o-LINI! (I must find a way to work it into everyday conversation.)

Veal Stew with Cipollini Onions
(serves 6)

a bag of cipollini onions (about 28)
2 Tbsp olive oil
2.5 lb veal stew meat (you can substitute beef, lamb or chicken)
salt and pepper
1/3 C flour
3 garlic cloves
1 Tbsp fresh thyme leaves (or however much you want)
1 1/4 C dry white wine
2.5 C chicken stock
7 or 8 oz can diced tomatoes in their juice
14 small red-skinned potatoes (or 4 big ones cut into eighths)
1 large carrot, peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces
1/4 C fresh parsley for garnish (optional)

In a stock pot, cook the unpeeled cipollinis for 2 minutes. Drain and let cool. Peel them and cut off the root ends (this will take about 5 minutes).

Heat the oil in the stock pot over medium-high heat. Sprinkle the veal with salt and pepper and then coat with flour. Add veal to pot in batches and fry until browned on both sides (about 8 minutes per batch). Set aside.

Add garlic and thyme to the same pot and saute for about a minute. Add the wine and deglaze the pan, scraping up all the crispy bits. Simmer over medium-high heat until reduced by half (about 3 minutes). Return the veal to the pot.

Add the broth and tomatoes with juice. Partially cover and simmer on low-medium heat for 15 minutes. Add the potatoes and carrots and simmer uncovered for about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the onions and simmer uncovered for another 25 minutes, again stirring once in a while. Stir in parsley, season with salt and pepper and serve in bowls with thick wedges of crusty bread.