Ok, so I took Ina's recipe for Salmon and fennel (pg. 134) and turned it upside down, basically using hers as inspiration for a new dish: Veal a la Sheila. : )
Like Shannon, I was only cooking for 2 so I modified the measurements for the onions, fennel, and spices (generally eyeballing it). Instead of salmon I used two veal chops (roughly 6 ounces each). I also decided to substitute lemon zest and juice where the recipe called for orange. Lastly, I added a small shallot to the onion and fennel mix.
I bought the fennel at Central Market, something I have never done and probably never would have before this! But so glad I did! The fresh Thyme was right by it, but I didn't want to spend the extra money which worked out because I used 2.5 tsp of dried thyme and the flavor was fantastic. Makes me wonder how much better it might have been had I splurged for the fresh stuff! : )
Other than (all) that, I followed the recipe for the preparation of the veggies; except, I am not using any oil or butter on my new diet so I sautéed them with water (by the end of the cooking I had used up a whole bottle- adding more each time it started evaporating). I don't think this jeopardized the flavor or the texture at all! I was very pleased!!
I put the onion, fennel, shallot, and thyme mix to the side and sauteed some mushrooms for Michael because he's not an onion fan. Once those where done I set them aside and sprayed the pan with non-stick cooking spray and tossed in the meat, adding salt and pepper. I cooked the veal for roughly 3 mins on each side. Perfect!
Then I added some red wine to the pan to deglaze it and later used what reduced as a light sauce. Loved it! Here are the results..... His and Her's Veal
Michael said it was "good". I am sure he meant, "SHEILA!!! THIS IS AMAZING!!!! I want to eat this for dinner every night!!!!". Oh well, I'll take what I can get, because in Michael's world a nonchalant good is a compliment! : ) Personally I really enjoyed it and was so happy I could modify it to meant my dietary restrictions. With all that flavor and the great texture of the veggies I didn't feel like I was missing out one bit! But, I think the girls were sad that they didn't get any of the goods! : ) They had spaghetti... from a jar : ( HA!
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2 comments:
Ok, I am very impressed...I have never cooked veal, and you do it from a salmon recipe? You are a superchef!
You and Shannon have got me all intereseted in trying fennel now! That will the recipe for next week!
Love the idea of sticking pics of kids up...I should have gotten one of my girls all purple from the blueberry crisp!
--Carissa
Veal is amazing! And all the juices in the meat make it a great candidate to cook without oil and butter, it browns up on its own. Also, I had never had fennel before and I have to say I am a fan! I noticed Ina uses it in a TON of her recipes.
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