Veal is the Meal

Wine: Shotfire Barossa Shiraz 2005


At Campanile, Mark used to make a great dish: Roasted Veal Shank. He served it standing up and besides being delicious, it always wowed the room as it was served. Years ago, when I went to Chicago, Cathy's father to me to a restaurant in Deerfield where they also served Stinco. Unfortunately it is no longer there and to make it worse, Cathy never got to eat there! We have been thinking about it, and decided to make it ourselves. We actually have two different recipes the one from Campanile and the one from Angelini Osteria. We decided to do the one from Angelini. Hopefully, Mark will take our hints and his version will occasionally return to rightful place on the menu.


We had a first course of a great salad from the Zuni Cafe Cookbook: Radicchio with Croutons, Hardboiled Eggs and Anchovy Vinaigrette. It is an excellent salad and easy to make.

Shredded Radicchio with Anchovy Vinaigrette, Bread crumbs, & Sieved Egg

A strong-flavored salad with an unusual texture. For a different flavor balance, you can replace some of the radicchio with escarole hearts or Belgian endive, or use a bitter radicchio - Castelfranco or Treviso variety.

for 4 servings:
1/2 ounces fresh, soft bread crumbs (about 3/4 cup) made from slightly stale, crustless, chewy,white peasant-style bread
about 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
about 1-1/2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
about 1-1/2 teaspoons chopped
salt-packed anchovy fillets {2 to 3fillets)
1 large shallot {about 1 ounce), finely diced
About 2 medium heads radicchio (about 12 ounces)
2 hard-cooked freshly cooked and peeled
Salt
Freshly cracked black pepper
Preheat the oven to 400°.
Combine the bread crumbs with about a tablespoon of the olive oil and knead very gently to distribute it. Spread the crumbs on a sheet pan and bake until they are unevenly golden, about 6 minutes. You may need to rotate the pan or stir the crumbs with a spatula. {The crumbs will shrink to about 1/2 cup in volume.) Cool completely. You could cheat and buy store bought croutons!
Combine the remaining oil, the vinegar, anchovies, shallot, and salt to taste.

Remove any damaged outer leaves from the radicchio, then rinse, dry, and quarter it. Remove the stem and core, then slice as if for coleslaw, about 1/8 inch thick. Place in a salad bowl and toss and fluff to separate into individual threads. Incorporate the toasted crumbs. Drizzle the vinaigrette evenly over the salad and toss well to combine. Taste and add more salt, oil, or vinegar as needed.
Press the eggs through a strainer, or grate on the finest face of a grater, letting the mimosa-like bits fall evenly over the salad. Give the salad only one or two folds to distribute the eggs, then serve. Offer cracked black pepper.


We then made the Roasted Veal Shank Stinco from Angelini. They call it Stinco, I always wondered why, guess I could have asked, but through the magic of the internet I found that Stinco is Italian for shin.

I purchased the Shanks from Guss Meats. As it happens he provides the Shanks to both Campanile and Angelini. They were huge! It could have served 6. In fact, it will serve 3 meals for 2. The house smelled great as they roasted away in the stove.

With them we served a Roasted Beet Farrotto from The Babbo Cookbook by Mario Batali. It was a wonderful side dish to serve with the veal.

ROASTED BEET FARROTTO
Adapted from ''The Babbo Cookbook''
by Mario Batali (Clarkson Potter, 2002)
Time: 1 hour 20 minutes
1 bunch beets, about a pound, scrubbed
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 1/2 cups farro, rinsed and drained
2 tablespoons pomegranate molasses or saba, unfermented boiled-down grape must (sold in specialty food shops)
1/2 cup brown chicken stock or half chicken, half beef stock
Parmigiano-reggiano, for grating.
1. Heat oven to 400 degrees. Trim tops off beets, drizzle with oil, and season with salt and pepper. Wrap in heavy-duty aluminum foil and roast until tender, about 45 minutes. Cool.
2. Bring 3 quarts of salted water to a boil. Add farro and cook until just tender, about 20 minutes.
3. While farro cooks, peel beets, cut in two and slice in half-moons 1/4-inch thick. Place in a bowl and toss with pomegranate molasses or saba.
4. Drain farro, and place in a skillet with stock. Add sliced beets, and toss over high heat until most of the stock is absorbed and farro is tender, about 5 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper and serve, topped with grated cheese.
Yield: 4 to 6 first-course servings.