While peering at the selection of fresh cheeses, glossy olives and cured meats in the display cabinet of the Norton Street Grocer in Leichhardt, another shopper commented on my abundantly packed shopping trolley. She asked whether I was hosting a dinner party and was surprised when I explained that this was a regular haul of groceries for my family. As her eyebrows shot upwards in surprise, she commented that I “must love to cook”. 

Although I enjoy home cooking, there are days and moments when it is the last thing I feel like doing – usually when I am very, very, very tired. At these times I am happy to eat anything delicious, prepared by anyone other than yours truly, including a simple cheese toastie. So, in response to that shopper’s question…I cook up a prolific volume of meals because I love to eat great food. I also want my family to appreciate a wide variety of ingredients, flavours and cuisines and to eat well. This evening was no exception. 

Chilcott’s Butchery diced up two kilograms of tender, pink veal chuck into ample four centimetre pieces. This became the base of tonight’s dinner in the form of Veal with Verjuice, Fennel and Bay Leaves served with a dish of Duck Fat Potatoes. What it lacks in looks, it makes up for in taste. The baby fennel gave the dish a fresh, mild aniseed flavour which balanced out the richness of the veal gravy and lip-smacking potatoes roasted in duck fat. You can find the recipe for these flavorsome potatoes in my post on the 18th May.

I’m going to make this veal dish again (a day in advance) and when cold, fill cream cheese pastry rounds, pinch them together and bake  as picnic pasties. Yum!

Veal with Verjuice, Fennel and Bay Leaves to serve 8 – 10 people

Ingredients
Olive oil
50 g unsalted butter
1 brown onion finely diced
4 cloves garlic crushed
8 baby carrots sliced lengthwise in half
1 baby fennel, including the green fronds, finely diced
6 dried bay leaves
sea salt to taste – I used a heaped teaspoon
2 kg veal chuck
1.5 tablespoons plain flour
250 ml verjuice
250 ml chicken stock

Melt the butter and olive oil in a heavy, ovenproof pot – I used my Le Creuset. Add all of the veggies and bay leaves,along with the salt and saute over a low heat for 10 minutes. 

Increase the heat to medium, add all of the veal chuck and stir gently until the surface of the veal has turned an opaque colour. 

Add the flour and cook off for a good minute. 

Pour in the verjuice and stock,increase the heat to high and bring to the boil. 

Clamp on the lid or use a double layer of aluminium foil and place in the oven for 2 hours until the veal is soft, and a thick, flavoursome gravy has formed at the bottom of the pot.

This can be served with either the duck fat roasted potatoes, or steamed rice, fluffy mashed potatoes or textured golden polenta. If you are serving with the roasted potatoes, these can be cooked after the veal is removed from the oven. Just increase the heat of the oven to high, slice the potatoes into quarters and they will be ready and golden within 30 minutes. The veal will stay snug and warm in the pot, as long as the lid remains on.