Tessa Kiros

Pot-Roasted Veal with Sage & Garlic

Preparation info

  • Serves

    5–6

    • Difficulty

      Easy

Appears in

Apples for Jam

Apples for Jam

By Tessa Kiros

Published 2010

  • About

At first glance this might not seem like a recipe that kids would love, but it is a great dish that I learned from my mother-in-law. Giovanni remembers the way the juices looked on his plate when he was a child — the way they separated deliciously into two colours. Serve with buttered noodles, your favourite potatoes or just sautéed greens. If you have leftovers, slice the meat thinly and use it to fill bread rolls, with a bit of sauce spooned in, too.

Ingredients

  • 125 ml(4 fl oz/½ cup) olive oil
  • about 650 g(1 lb 7 oz) young veal rump/nut, about 8–10 cm(4 inches) in diameter
  • 2 garlic cloves, unpeeled
  • 1 sage sprig
  • 125 ml(4 fl oz/½ cup) white wine

    Method

    Heat the oil in a casserole that will accommodate the meat snugly. Add the meat, garlic and sage and brown the meat on all sides over medium heat, turning it carefully with a pair of tongs. Take care not to pierce the meat so that the juices stay inside. Sprinkle the browned top with a fair amount of salt, let it soak in for a bit. Then turn it over and salt the new top. If the garlic and sage are looking too dark, sit them on top of the meat.

    Add the wine and leave it to bubble up for a few minutes. Add 3–4 tablespoons of water and reduce the heat to low. Cover the pot and simmer for 15 minutes or so, until the meat is still soft but is lightly cooked all the way through. Overcooking will dry it out, so check it now and then. The exact cooking time will depend on the heat and the size of your meat. Turn it over a couple of times while it’s cooking and add a little water if necessary; there should be a good amount of sauce to serve with the meat. Turn off the heat and leave the pot with the lid on for at least 15 minutes before serving.

    Serve the veal in thin slices with the sauce spooned over the top, warm or at room temperature.