What Is Cooking en Blanquette?
The word “blanquette” comes from the color white—“blanc” in French—which describes the color of the meat and of the sauce. Indeed, in most classic French stews, such as beef bourguignon, the chunks of meat must be browned beforehand—but this isn’t the case in veal blanquette. The meat should remain “white.”Cooking “en blanquette” thus describes cooking meat or fish in broth with aromatics to prevent it from browning or getting any type of sear. The meat or fish is then reserved on the side, and the broth is bolstered with a white roux (butter and flour) and enriched with white crème fraîche and egg yolk before the meat or fish is returned to the stew.
If you aren’t familiar with cooking en blanquette, boiling meat in a broth may sound like an odd or counter-intuitive process. But you will soon realize the slow simmering gives the veal a unique tenderness and develops more delicate flavors, compared to other brown stews. Blanquettes are much-beloved dishes in France, whether made with fish, poultry, or even ham—but veal blanquette, or blanquette de veau, remains a favorite for most.
Because it only requires one pot and one broth, cooking en blanquette also happens to be easier and less labor intensive than other stews involving browning the meat first. That said, choosing the right cut of veal and understanding how the flavors of this unique stew are built are essential to making this deliciously classic stew in your own kitchen.
Choosing the Right Cut
Compared to beef, veal is more fine grained and has a more delicate texture and flavor, which makes it perfect for cooking en blanquette. The usual pieces of choice are flank, neck, breast, shoulder (most affordable), and collar (less common, but exquisite). For this recipe, I use boneless shoulder, but it’s common to use different cuts of veal to get different textures in the final dish.Building the Flavor
While browned meat is often key to building depth of flavor in a stew, veal blanquette must rely on other ingredients for flavor. We call these other ingredients “la garniture aromatique” (aromatic garnishes), which are: a bouquet garni, a clove-poked onion, and the vegetables.Bouquet garni, translating to “garnished bouquet,” is a bundle of fresh herbs, typically parsley, thyme, and bay leaf, all tied up together with cooking twine. This classic element of French cuisine is often used to flavor broths, soups, and stews. In a veal blanquette, a bouquet garni offers aromatic flavors to the stewing broth, the meat, and the vegetables.
The Vegetables
Following the same rule as for the meat and the sauce, the vegetables traditionally found in a veal blanquette are meant to be white: onions and button or cremini mushrooms. Over time, however, more vegetables have slipped into the recipe, and nowadays, you will rarely find a veal blanquette made without carrots. Along with carrots, celery is also often added to build flavor in the broth. I myself prefer fennel, which has a similar texture but brings even more aromatic notes to the dish.Veal Blanquette
This is one of those crowd-pleasing stewed dishes that tastes even better reheated the next day. Serve it over rice with sweet peas, or boiled potatoes.- 2 pounds trimmed, boneless veal shoulder, cut into 2-inch chunks
- Salt and freshly ground pepper
- 6 cups vegetable broth (low sodium)
- 1 bouquet garni (5 parsley sprigs, 2 to 3 thyme sprigs, and 2 bay leaves)
- 1 medium onion, peeled and poked with 6 cloves
- 4 medium carrots, peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces
- 1/2 fennel bulb, cut in half
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 2 cups cremini mushrooms, quartered
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1 egg yolk
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
- 1/3 cup crème fraîche
- Chopped parsley, to serve
In a medium Dutch oven, cover the veal with the broth and bring to a simmer over moderately high heat. Make the bouquet garni: Tie the parsley, thyme, and bay leaves together with cooking twine and add the bundle to the pot, along with the onion. Simmer over low heat for 1 hour, occasionally skimming the fat that may form from the top of the broth with a large spoon.
After 1 hour, add the carrots and fennel and simmer for another 45 minutes. Test the texture of the veal; it should be fork tender.
Meanwhile, melt 2 tablespoons of butter in a large frying pan over medium heat. Add the mushrooms, seasoned to taste with salt and black pepper, and cook for about 10 minutes, until the mushrooms are cooked and lightly browned. Set aside.
With a large slotted spoon, drain the meat and vegetables and reserve on a plate covered with foil to prevent them from drying. Discard the bouquet garni and onion.
In a small bowl, mix together the butter and flour with a fork. Pour about 1/4 cup of the hot broth into the paste and whisk until smooth. Pour the mix into the hot broth in the Dutch oven and whisk to combine. Simmer for about 10 minutes over moderate heat, whisking often, until the sauce thickens slightly. Taste-test the sauce: no floury taste should remain.
In a small bowl, whisk together the lemon juice, egg yolk, and crème fraîche. Pour about 1/4 cup of the hot broth into the crème mixture to temper it, then whisk into the sauce in the Dutch oven.
Add the veal, vegetables, and mushrooms, and keep over low heat until the meat is hot again. Season the stew with salt and pepper to taste.
For serving, sprinkle with freshly chopped parsley.
