My taste buds having been shot for the past two weeks due to the nastiest cold that ever was, which seems to have turned into bronchitis, I wanted something zingy and tangy for my first foray back into cooking. It was not an attractive dish and I considered both burning the clothes that I was wearing and moving to a new apartment after cooking the veal (thank goodness I had the foresight to disable the smoke alarm) but it was absolutely delicious and surprisingly complex in flavor considering how easy it was.
12 veal cutlets
1 cup chicken stock
1/3 cup white wine
1 Tbsp lemon juice
1 lemon, thinly sliced and deseeded
1/4 cup capers
1 Tbsp chopped parsley
2 Tbsps butter + 1 additional one to finish the sauce
2 Tbsps olive oil
Flour for dredging - about 1/2 cup
Salt and pepper to taste
Place the white wine, chicken stock, lemon juice and lemon slices in a small saucepan and heat over very low heat while you prepare the rest of the dish. Allow it to bubble away until reduced by about half.
Pound the cutlets until they are as thin as you can get them. Dredge in flour to which you have added liberal amounts of salt and pepper (I have found the best way to do this is to put them in a plastic bag with the flour and shake until they are evenly coated with the flour) and shake off all excess.
Heat one tablespoon of the butter and one of the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Working in batches, and adding the remaining tablespoon of butter and oil when needed, cook the veal. Sprinkle lightly with salt on each side as you cook it. Because the cutlets are so thin, this will take about one minute on one side and an additional 30 seconds to a minute on the other. As the veal is cooked, set aside on a paper towel lined plate.
Once the meat is all cooked, lower the heat under the skillet and melt the additional tablespoon of butter, stirring constantly to dredge up all of the brown bits remaining in the bottom of the pan.
Add the stock mixture to the skillet and cook, stirring constantly. The sauce should thicken as a lot of the brown bits are remainders of the flour coating the veal which will form the base for a sort of roux.
Once the sauce has slightly thickened, add the capers and the parsley. Pour the sauce over the veal cutlets.
I served this dish with steamed spinach which was good because the spinach absorbed some of the tangy sauce but, if you were looking for something more substantial, spaetzle or gnocchi such as these might be a good option.
Inspiration recipe here.