Blanquette de Veau

How to make it

1. Put the veal shoulder cubes in a large pot, cover them with cold water and bring it slowly to a boil. Skim off the gray foam as it rises. Let the meat blanch for 2 minutes, until it's firm and white on the outside — blanching draws out the impurities that would otherwise turn the sauce gray. ⏱ 10 min
2. Pour off the blanching water and rinse both the meat and the pot under cold water, until no foam remains on either. Let the meat cubes drain in a strainer.
3. Put the rinsed meat back into the clean pot and add the 1.5 l cold water, so it just barely covers the meat. Add the carrots, the onion studded with the cloves, the leek and the celery. Add the bundled parsley stems, thyme sprigs and bay leaf, and add the salt. Bring it slowly to a boil uncovered, skimming until the surface is bright and clear. ⏱ 10 min–15 min
   Chef's tip Cold liquid and slow heating make the proteins gather as foam on the surface instead of dispersing into the broth. Skim before it starts to bubble — bubbles whisk the foam back into the liquid.
4. Turn down the heat, cover with a lid and let the blanquette simmer gently for 90 minutes, until the meat is tender and yields to a fork without falling apart. The liquid should only tremble, since a hard boil will shred the meat and cloud the broth. ⏱ 1 h 30 min · passive
   Chef's tip Aim for a surface with a bubble breaking only every few seconds — around 85°C, not a rolling boil. Agitation tears the collagen-rich shoulder into shreds and emulsifies fat into the broth, turning it milky.
5. Put the pearl onions in a single layer in a small pot with half of the garnish butter, the sugar and a pinch of salt. Add water so it comes halfway up the onions, and cover with a lid. Let them cook for 15 minutes over low heat, until the water has reduced to a glossy film that coats the onions. They should stay completely pale, so shake the pot rather than turning up the heat. ⏱ 15 min
6. Put the mushrooms in a small pot with the rest of the butter, the lemon juice, a pinch of salt and 2 tbsp water. Cover with a lid and let them cook for 5-7 minutes, until they're glossy and have released their juices, but are still pale. The lemon juice keeps them white, so they don't discolor the sauce.
7. Lift the tender meat out of the pot with a slotted spoon and put it in a bowl. Strain the broth through a fine-mesh sieve, and discard the vegetables and the herb bundle. Measure out 1 l of the strained broth for the sauce.
   Chef's tip Let the strained broth settle for a couple of minutes and skim the golden eyes of fat off the surface. Otherwise the fat will sit as a glossy film on the finished sauce instead of binding into it.
8. Melt the butter for the rice in a heavy-bottomed pot and sauté the finely chopped shallot over medium heat, until it's soft and translucent without taking on color. Stir in the rice and stir until every grain is glossy with butter.
9. Add the chicken stock, add the bay leaf and season the liquid with salt while it heats up — once the rice has absorbed it, you won't be able to adjust the salt. Bring it to a boil, cover with a lid and let the rice cook for 20 minutes over low heat, until the liquid is fully absorbed and the grains are tender. ⏱ 20 min · passive
   Chef's tip Once the lid is on, leave it: every lift lets out the steam the top layer of rice is cooking in, giving hard grains on top and wet ones below. Resist stirring too — it rubs starch loose and turns it sticky.
10. Melt the butter for the sauce in a heavy-bottomed pot over medium heat and whisk in the flour. Let the roux bubble for 2-4 minutes, until it foams evenly and is pale as ivory. It must not take on color, since a browned roux would color the blanquette.
11. Whisk in the measured liter of strained broth a little at a time, letting the roux become fully smooth again before adding more. Let the sauce simmer for 10 minutes, whisking regularly, until it flows slowly off the spoon and coats it with a thin film. ⏱ 10 min
    Chef's tip Adding broth in stages keeps the flour dispersed in fat; dumped in at once, the starch clumps before it can swallow the liquid. The finished velouté should coat the spoon thinly enough that a finger drawn through leaves a clean line.
12. Whisk the egg yolks together with the cream in a bowl. Whisk a couple of deciliters of the hot sauce into the mixture first, so the yolks acclimate to the heat without curdling. Stir the liaison back into the pot over low heat and let the sauce thicken until it evenly coats the spoon. It must not come to a boil.
    Chef's tip Egg yolks begin setting around 65°C and curdle well below a simmer, which is why they're tempered first. Keep the pot off a full bubble and watch for the sauce turning glossy and slightly thicker — grainy specks mean it went too far.
13. Fold the meat cubes, the glazed pearl onions and the mushrooms into the sauce and heat everything through over low heat for 5 minutes, until the meat is heated through and the sauce coats every piece. Season with the lemon juice, salt and white pepper — the lemon should lift the cream, not be distinctly tasted.
14. Spoon the rice into one side of a deep plate and ladle the blanquette with meat, onions and mushrooms alongside, so the sauce runs into the rice. Bring the pot to the table so everyone can help themselves to seconds while it's hot.