Blanquette de Veau aux Nouilles

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •5- to 6-quart heavy pot
• •3-quart heavy saucepan
• •12-inch skillet
• •Fine-mesh strainer
• •Instant-read thermometer

Instructions

1. 1

   Blanch the veal

   Reserve 7 cups (1.65 L / 1.65 kg) of the cold water for the poach. Put the veal in a heavy pot and cover it by about an inch with the remaining cold water. Bring it slowly to the first boil, letting the grey foam rise, then boil for 2 minutes. Drain the meat, rinse it briefly under cool water, and wash the pot. This blanching is not brigade clutter: it removes the proteins that would cloud the sauce. Do not brown the veal.

   A few grey marks on the meat are normal after blanching. Golden or bronze marks are not; this dish begins with water, never hot fat.
2. 2

   Poach without color

   Stud the onion with the cloves. Return the veal to the clean pot and add the reserved water, the onion, carrots, leek, celery, bouquet garni, 2 teaspoons (10 ml / 12 g) of the salt, and the white pepper. The liquid should barely cover the meat. Bring it up slowly, skim the surface carefully, then hold it at the faintest tremble with the lid slightly ajar for 60 to 75 minutes. The veal is ready when a thin knife enters without resistance but the pieces still hold their shape.

3. 3

   Clarify the cuisson

   Lift the veal into a bowl and strain the cuisson through a fine-mesh strainer, discarding every aromatic, including the clove-studded onion. There are no pearl onions or mushrooms in this version. Skim off the surface fat, then measure 3½ cups (830 ml / 830 g) of liquid. If you have more, reduce it at a lively simmer; if you have less, add enough hot water to reach the measure. Pour ½ cup (120 ml / 120 g) over the veal and keep it covered. Reserve the remaining 3 cups (710 ml / 710 g) for the sauce.

4. 4

   Build the roux blanc

   Melt the butter for the roux blanc in a heavy saucepan over medium-low heat. Stir in the flour and cook for 2 minutes, stirring continuously, until it smells faintly biscuit-like but has taken no color. Whisk in the hot cuisson a ladleful at a time, smoothing each addition before the next. Hold the sauce at a bare simmer for 10 minutes, whisking often, until it lightly naps the back of a spoon. If lumps appear, remove the pan from the heat, whisk firmly, and pass the sauce through the clean strainer. Ça se rattrape.

5. 5

   Cohere the noodles

   Bring a wide pot of water to a boil and season it with 1 tablespoon (15 ml / 18 g) of the remaining salt. Add the 12 ounces (340 g) of fresh noodles and parboil them until flexible but still a little firmer than you would serve them, usually 1 to 2 minutes. Drain them very thoroughly. Melt their 3 tablespoons (45 ml / 43 g) of butter in the emptied pot, return the noodles, and toss over low heat until the butter coats every strand and the noodles settle naturally into soft, coherent mounds. These are nouilles liées au beurre (noodles lightly bound with butter), not a sticky mass. If they tighten, loosen them with a spoonful of cuisson from the veal bowl, then cover and hold them off the heat.

6. 6

   Toss the raw strands

   Separate the remaining 2¼ ounces (64 g) of raw fresh noodles with your fingers. Melt their 1½ tablespoons (22 ml / 21 g) of butter in a wide skillet over medium heat, add the raw strands, and toss them quickly with two forks for 3 to 5 minutes. They should lose their floury raw taste, turn opaque, and become lightly golden and crisp at the tips. This preserves the book’s ratio of 3 ounces of tossed raw noodles per pound of cohered noodles. If the butter darkens before the noodles cook through, lower the heat, add the optional tablespoon of cold water, and cover for 30 seconds. Uncover and toss until the water disappears and the strands crisp again.

7. 7

   Finish the liaison

   Whisk the egg yolks with the ½ cup (120 ml / 120 g) of cream, lemon juice, and nutmeg. Bring the sauce base just to a simmer, then remove it from the heat. Whisk about 1 cup (240 ml / 240 g) of hot sauce gradually into the yolk mixture, then whisk the tempered liaison back into the saucepan. Return it to the lowest heat and stir constantly until the sauce thickens to a satin coat and reaches 160°F (71°C), without a single boil. If fine grains form at the edge, pull the pan away immediately and whisk in the optional cold cream. If needed, strain it before the veal returns. Ça se rattrape, but only while you act quickly.

8. 8

   Warm and serve

   Fold the veal and its holding liquid into the finished sauce. Warm everything gently for 3 to 5 minutes without simmering, then taste and use the remaining salt as needed. Spoon the blanquette into a wide, shallow serving dish. Set four generous heaps of the butter-bound noodles directly on the stew and cover each heap with the crisp butter-tossed strands. Serve at once, while the liaison still gleams and the two noodle textures remain distinct. À table!

Chef Tips

• •Veal shoulder gives the best balance of tenderness and body. Breast is excellent too, though it carries more connective tissue and may need the full poaching time. Whichever you buy, keep the pieces large enough to survive the simmer intact.
• •The onion in the poaching liquor does not contradict the source’s instruction to suppress onions. It is an aromatic and leaves with the bouquet garni; the omitted garnish is the customary serving of glazed pearl onions, along with mushrooms.
• •Use thin fresh egg noodles. Dried noodles can make the soft heaps, but they cannot enter the butter raw and cook quickly in the manner this entry requires. The two treatments are not decoration; their contrast is the reason noodles replace the older garnish.
• •Serve a dry white with enough freshness to cut the liaison, such as a Mâcon or a restrained Chenin Blanc. Heavy oak makes the cream feel heavier, which is no favor to either the sauce or the wine.

Advance Preparation

• •The veal and sauce base can be prepared through the roux blanc up to 2 days ahead. Fold the veal into the unfinished sauce, cool it within 2 hours, cover, and refrigerate. Reheat gently, then add the liaison only before serving.
• •Weigh the two noodle portions earlier in the day, but cook both at the last moment. The cohered noodles become heavy if held too long, and the fine butter-tossed strands lose their crisp tips under a cover.
• •Reheat finished leftovers over the lowest heat with a spoonful of cream, stirring carefully and never allowing the liaison to boil. Use within 3 days and do not freeze; the sauce separates and the noodles lose both textures.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 640g)