Chef Juliette
Selle de Veau (Relevé)
A half saddle of veal, bacon-barded and braised by short moistening, emerges bronze and succulent, with the concentrated veal glaze that makes this grand relevé worthy of the home table.
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Ris de Veau à la Suédoise
Created by Chef Juliette
Based on No. 1245, Ris de Veau à la Suédoise, from Le Guide Culinaire (1907) by Auguste Escoffier
A pale pastry crust filled with mayonnaise-bound vegetables and crowned with chilled sweetbread, horseradish butter, and tongue: the composed cold entrée that rewards patience, clean slicing, and exact seasoning.
Main Dishes
French
Make Ahead
Special Occasion
1 hr 15 min
Active Time
1 hr cook•7 hr total
Yield4 servings
Ris de Veau à la Suédoise (cold veal sweetbreads with horseradish butter and tongue) teaches the discipline of a composed cold entrée: every element must be fully cold, cleanly cut, and seasoned for the temperature at which it will be eaten. The one true thing to know before you touch a pan is that warm sweetbread cannot be sliced into regular collops. Poach it gently, press it, chill it hard, and the crown almost builds itself.
The original entry assumed a pâtissier to bake a pale crust in a flawn ring and a garde-manger to poach, press, slice, and assemble the cold elements. It needed neither a saucier's reduction nor a salamander, but it did rely on the same brigade abundance: separate hands and long stretches in the cold room. At home, a 20 cm tart ring, baking beans, a small saucepan, and a weighted board do the work. The division of labor is scaffolding and goes; the pale crust made ahead, mayonnaise-bound salad, horseradish butter, and matching rounds of sweetbread and tongue are the dish and stay. The quantity is scaled to four, so one cook can manage it without turning the kitchen into a parade ground.
The finished Suédoise is cool, pale, and precise rather than timid: crisp pastry, creamy vegetable salad, tender sweetbread, sharp horseradish, rosy tongue, and an opened lettuce heart. The decisive step is pressing the sweetbread until it is thoroughly cold and firm. Rush that, and no knife can save the geometry.
Ris de Veau à la Suédoise belongs to the Parisian classical cold-table repertoire, where geographical names often served as codes for garnishes rather than claims that a dish came directly from a household in that country. The designation à la Suédoise points to the canon's northern association of horseradish and preserved tongue, arranged by the garde-manger in a pale pastry crust with mayonnaise-bound vegetables. It is therefore not a Swedish national preparation: its structure and presentation are French, while its name signals the flavors the French repertoire associated with Sweden.
The technique, the tradition, and the story behind every dish.
Discover Culinary ExplorerIngredients
veal sweetbreads
Quantity
1 pair (about 1¼ pounds / 570 g)
fresh lemon juice
Quantity
2 tablespoons (30 ml / 30 g)
fine sea salt
Quantity
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon (20 ml / 24 g)
divided
all-purpose flour
Quantity
1⅔ cups (400 ml / 200 g), plus 2 tablespoons (30 ml / 16 g) for rolling
unsalted butter for the pastry and ring
Quantity
7 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon (110 ml / 105 g)
7 tablespoons chilled and diced; 1 teaspoon softened
ice water
Quantity
3 tablespoons (45 ml / 45 g), plus a few drops if needed
large egg white
Quantity
1
waxy potato
Quantity
1 cup (240 ml / 150 g)
peeled and cut into 5 mm dice
carrot
Quantity
⅔ cup (160 ml / 100 g)
peeled and cut into 5 mm dice
turnip
Quantity
½ cup (120 ml / 75 g)
peeled and cut into 5 mm dice
green beans
Quantity
½ cup (120 ml / 70 g)
cut into 5 mm pieces
frozen petits pois
Quantity
½ cup (120 ml / 70 g)
pasteurized large egg yolk
Quantity
1
Dijon mustard
Quantity
2 teaspoons (10 ml / 10 g)
white wine vinegar
Quantity
1 tablespoon (15 ml / 15 g)
neutral oil
Quantity
⅔ cup (160 ml / 145 g)
sunflower or grapeseed
ground white pepper
Quantity
¼ teaspoon (1 ml / 0.5 g)
divided
unsalted butter for the horseradish butter
Quantity
6 tablespoons (90 ml / 85 g)
softened
fresh horseradish
Quantity
3 tablespoons (45 ml / 30 g)
finely grated
cooked cured veal or beef tongue
Quantity
About 14 thin slices (7 ounces / 200 g)
butter lettuce heart
Quantity
1 small
washed and dried
| Ingredient | Quantity |
|---|---|
| veal sweetbreads | 1 pair (about 1¼ pounds / 570 g) |
| fresh lemon juice | 2 tablespoons (30 ml / 30 g) |
| fine sea saltdivided | 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon (20 ml / 24 g) |
| all-purpose flour | 1⅔ cups (400 ml / 200 g), plus 2 tablespoons (30 ml / 16 g) for rolling |
| unsalted butter for the pastry and ring7 tablespoons chilled and diced; 1 teaspoon softened | 7 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon (110 ml / 105 g) |
| ice water | 3 tablespoons (45 ml / 45 g), plus a few drops if needed |
| large egg white | 1 |
| waxy potatopeeled and cut into 5 mm dice | 1 cup (240 ml / 150 g) |
| carrotpeeled and cut into 5 mm dice | ⅔ cup (160 ml / 100 g) |
| turnippeeled and cut into 5 mm dice | ½ cup (120 ml / 75 g) |
| green beanscut into 5 mm pieces | ½ cup (120 ml / 70 g) |
| frozen petits pois | ½ cup (120 ml / 70 g) |
| pasteurized large egg yolk | 1 |
| Dijon mustard | 2 teaspoons (10 ml / 10 g) |
| white wine vinegar | 1 tablespoon (15 ml / 15 g) |
| neutral oilsunflower or grapeseed | ⅔ cup (160 ml / 145 g) |
| ground white pepperdivided | ¼ teaspoon (1 ml / 0.5 g) |
| unsalted butter for the horseradish buttersoftened | 6 tablespoons (90 ml / 85 g) |
| fresh horseradishfinely grated | 3 tablespoons (45 ml / 30 g) |
| cooked cured veal or beef tongue | About 14 thin slices (7 ounces / 200 g) |
| butter lettuce heartwashed and dried | 1 small |
Equipment Needed
- •20 cm flan ring or loose-bottomed tart tin
- •Baking sheet, parchment, and baking beans
- •Two small trays or boards and a 2-pound (900 g) weight
- •Instant-read thermometer
- •Small saucepan
- •Whisk and nonreactive bowl
- •4 cm round cutter, optional
Instructions
- 1
Soak the sweetbreads
Put the sweetbreads in a nonreactive bowl, cover generously with cold water, and refrigerate for 2 hours, changing the water twice. The water should become nearly clear. This draws away blood and gives the finished collops their clean ivory color; keep the bowl cold throughout, because soaking on the counter is neither useful nor safe.
Order heart sweetbreads if the butcher offers a choice. They are plumper and more regular than throat sweetbreads, which means fewer trimmings and neater collops. - 2
Make the pale pastry
While the sweetbreads soak, mix the flour with ½ teaspoon of the salt. Rub in the 7 tablespoons of chilled butter until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs with a few small flat pieces remaining. Add the ice water and gather the dough with a fork, adding only a few extra drops if dry flour remains. Press it into a disc without kneading, wrap, and refrigerate for 45 minutes. A restrained hand keeps the crust crisp; overworked dough shrinks and becomes tough.
- 3
Poach and press
Drain the sweetbreads and place them in a saucepan. Cover by 2.5 cm with fresh cold water, then add the lemon juice and 2 teaspoons of the salt. Bring up slowly until the liquid barely trembles and poach without coloration for 12 to 15 minutes, turning once, until the centers reach 160°F (71°C). Transfer them immediately to ice water. When cool enough to handle, pull away the loose outer membrane and any obvious tubes without digging into the lobes. Lay the sweetbreads between two small trays, weight the top with about 2 pounds (900 g), and refrigerate for at least 3 hours. If they still feel soft when unwrapped, don't force the knife through them. Press and chill for another hour. Ça se rattrape.
A hard boil toughens the outside before the center cooks. Keep the liquid at a bare tremble, and the sweetbread remains tender enough to eat cold. - 4
Bake the crust pale
Heat the oven to 350°F (175°C). Butter a 20 cm flan ring or loose-bottomed tart tin and set it on a baking sheet. Roll the dough about 3 mm thick, line the ring with a base and a low, even rim, and reserve the trimmings. Dock the base, chill it for 20 minutes, then line with parchment and fill with baking beans. Bake for 18 minutes, remove the paper and weights, and bake for another 6 to 8 minutes, only until dry and pale blond. Brush the inside lightly with egg white and return it to the oven for 2 minutes to seal it against the salad. If a crack appears, press a scrap of raw dough over it while the shell is warm and bake for 3 minutes more. Cool completely before unmolding.
- 5
Cook the vegetables
Bring a saucepan of water to a boil and season it with 1 teaspoon of the remaining salt. Cook the potato, carrot, and turnip separately until tender but still holding sharp edges, about 4 to 7 minutes depending on the vegetable. Cook the beans until bright and just tender, then the petits pois for 1 minute. Refresh each vegetable in ice water, drain thoroughly, and spread everything on a clean towel until cold and dry. Wet vegetables loosen mayonnaise and soften the pastry, so give them time to shed every drop.
- 6
Build the mayonnaise
Whisk the egg yolk with the Dijon mustard, white wine vinegar, ¼ teaspoon salt, and half the white pepper. Add the oil by drops at first, whisking until the emulsion takes, then continue in a thin steady thread until the mayonnaise is thick and glossy. If it separates, stop pouring. Put 1 teaspoon of cold water in a clean bowl and whisk in the broken mayonnaise one spoonful at a time until it comes back together. Season firmly enough to taste lively when cold, then refrigerate.
- 7
Cut the collops
Beat the softened butter with the grated horseradish, the remaining white pepper, and a pinch of salt. Slice the thoroughly chilled sweetbreads across the lobes into regular collops about 5 mm thick. Trim them with a 4 cm cutter or a small sharp knife if necessary, then cut the tongue into pieces of exactly the same size. Spread each sweetbread collop with a thin, complete layer of horseradish butter and cover it with a matching slice of tongue. Keep the layered collops cold while you fill the crust.
- 8
Compose the Suédoise
Fold the cold vegetables with enough mayonnaise to make them cohere without burying their colors. Spoon the salad into the pale crust and level it gently. Arrange the sweetbread and tongue collops in an overlapping crown around the edge, keeping the rosy tongue uppermost, or build them into a compact turban if the crust is deep enough. Set the lettuce heart in the middle and open its leaves slightly with your fingers. Serve cool within 30 minutes of assembly, while the crust remains crisp. À table!
Chef Tips
- •Sweetbreads are usually sold frozen or by advance order. Ask for veal heart sweetbreads and allow for trimming; technique first, always, but a plump intact pair makes the regular collops this dish demands.
- •Buy the tongue already cooked and cured from a butcher or delicatessen, preferably in thin intact slices. The original required tongue the same size as the sweetbread, so broad slices are more useful than chopped ends.
- •Fresh horseradish gives the butter its cleanest heat. If only prepared horseradish is available, drain it very well and use 3 tablespoons (45 ml / 35 g); its vinegar makes the butter slightly sharper and softer, so chill it briefly before spreading.
- •Serve with a dry Champagne or a mineral Chablis. The acidity handles the mayonnaise and butter, while the wine stays out of the horseradish's way.
- •Keep the finished dish refrigerated until service and return leftovers to the cold within 2 hours. The sweetbread and mayonnaise are delicate, even when the pastry looks perfectly composed.
Advance Preparation
- •Poach, trim, and press the sweetbreads up to 1 day ahead. Keep them covered and refrigerated under light pressure until slicing.
- •Bake the pale crust up to 1 day ahead, as the original entry requires. Once completely cool, keep it airtight at room temperature; refrigeration makes pastry stale.
- •Cook and dry the vegetables and prepare the mayonnaise several hours ahead, but store them separately in the cold. Bind the salad shortly before assembly.
- •Assemble no more than 30 minutes before serving. A longer wait allows the mayonnaise-bound salad to soften the crust.
Frequently Asked Questions
Nutrition Information
1 serving (about 460g)
Calories
1225 calories
Total Fat
92 g
Saturated Fat
34 g
Trans Fat
2 g
Unsaturated Fat
54 g
Cholesterol
530 mg
Sodium
1300 mg
Total Carbohydrates
57 g
Dietary Fiber
5 g
Sugars
5 g
Protein
43 g
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