It's Kosher!

Nancy Silverton and Matt Molina have a brand new cookbook called (naturally) The Mozza Cookbook. They had a wonderful event at the restaurant where they gave us a copy of the cookbook and served lots of food from recipes from the book. We asked Matt what was the first recipe we should make and he suggested: veal breast stracotto.

We called Nate at McCall’s Meat and Fish and tried to order a veal breast, however, he informed us he needs a weeks notice to get fresh veal. He highly recommended NOT getting frozen veal. I thought it would be easy to find fresh veal and called all of the major markets. None had fresh veal, only frozen. Finally from the recesses of mind, I sort of remembered that Kosher butchers would have fresh veal. I called one and he said they had it. On the internet I found one: Doheny Glatt Kosher Meat.

Since we were planning to go over to the west side of LA for a Doctor appointment, we decided to pick one up there. Oye, a new problem! It was Friday and of course a Kosher butcher shop closes early, so they can be home before Sunset. We prepared to dash over and then received a call from Robert, he was independently of us planning a veal dinner and he could not get fresh veal. Nate must of told him we were in the same boat. He called us, and we volunteered to pick up his meat.

When we arrived at the butcher shop, the first person we talked to tried to sell us frozen veal. I was devastated we had driven all the way over and now they didn’t have fresh veal. What a bummer. I said I had talked them over the phone and they said they had fresh meat. He told me to speak to the owner. Easier said than done. I had never been there before and had no idea who the owner was. Meanwhile the clock was ticking towards their closing and Cathy’s Doctor appointment time. Finally a man said, he remembered the call and would get us fresh veal. He made a phone call and a few minutes later a man walked into the butcher shop with a half of veal slung over his shoulder. They then carved out a beautiful breast for us. He did say that if we only wanted 9 pounds he wouldn’t have gotten the veal. Oh well. Now I know where and when (not late Friday afternoon) to get fresh veal.

This was a dinner that kept on giving! The original serving of meat and Vegetables were delicious, but a little salty for my taste. Cathy figured out how to dilute the saltiness. We shredded the meat and used it to make a Bolognese Pasta sauce. We used the recipe for Garganelli with Veal Ragu On Top of Spaghetti by Johanne Killeen and George Germon. This is an excellent ragu recipe. You can find the recipe in our blog of: Feb. 28, 2011. Click the date to get the recipe. We still had pasta left over! We then converted it to a Baked Pasta, by mixing fresh Burrata Cheese and topping with Parmesan Cheese.This expensive veal gave us a lot of dinners. As I am writing this we still have leftover baked Pasta and plan to eat it tomorrow night!

We started with: Tricolore With Parmigiano-Reggiano And Anchovy Dressing from the same Mozza Cookbook. This is a great recipe and tought me we could make Caesar Salad Dressing in the Magimix!

veal breast stracotto

The Mozza Cookbook

Nancy Silverton

One of my favorite daytrips from my house in Italy is to the town of Panzano in Chianti, to visit the world-famous butcher Dario Cecchini. Dario has been covered by every food publication imaginable, and since Bill Buford wrote about him in his memoir, Heat, Dario's shop has become a mecca for foodies traveling in Italy. To meet the demand of his fans, Dario now has three restaurants that people can visit while they're there: a steakhouse serving prime cuts, such as bistecca fiorentina, a classic prepara­tion of a T-bone or porterhouse grilled over a wood fire; a hamburger restau­rant, Dario Plus; and my favorite of the three, Solo Ciccia. This restaurant, whose name means "only meat," offers lesser cuts of meats prepared in a variety of ways, many of them cooked long and slow, or stracotto, like this dish. Veal breast isn 't something you '11 find at your average grocery store, so you '11 have to get it from a butcher, and you will probably have to special-order it. Ask the butcher to save the bones he carved the breast from, as you '11 use those to make the stock in which the meat is braised. While you 're at it, have him roll and tie the breast for you, too. Even though this might be out of your ordinary shopping routine, the good news is that you'll end up with a rich, luxurious veal dish for not a lot of money.

for seasoning the veal

1 4-pound boneless veal breast, bones reserved

1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon kosher salt

1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

for the veal stock (optional)

8 cups Basic Chicken Stock

1 leek, cleaned thoroughly and roughly chopped into 1-inch pieces

1 large Spanish onion, roughly chopped into 1-inch pieces '

1 carrot, peeled and roughly chopped into 1-inch pieces

for braising the veal

1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

1/4 pound prosciutto, ground or finely chopped

2 celery ribs, finely diced (about 1 cup)

1 large carrot, peeled and finely diced Half of a large Spanish onion, finely diced

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

3 garlic cloves, thinly sliced

2 tablespoons double-concentrated tomato paste

1 750-ml. bottle dry white wine 1 quart veal stock or Basic Chicken Stock , warmed if gelatinous

4 turnips, halved or quartered depending on their size, or 8 baby turnips (about 2 pounds), or whole unpeeled baby carrots with 1-inch greens attached

for the garnish

3/4 cup whole fresh Italian parsley leaves

3/4 cup whole fresh celery

leaves (only pale green leaves from the hearts)

Zested strips of 3 lemons

1 tablespoon finishing-quality extra-virgin olive oil

Maldon sea salt or another flaky sea salt, such as fleur de sel

To season the veal, place the breast in a nonreactive baking

dish and season it all over with the salt and pepper, using approximately 1 teaspoon of salt per pound of meat. If your butcher did not roll and tie the veal breast, roll it tightly lengthwise into a long log shape and tie it with kitchen twine in five or six places along the roll. Cover the dish tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least I hour and up to overnight.

Meanwhile, if you are making the stock, adjust the oven rack to the middle position and preheat the oven to 325°F.

Place the veal bones on a baking sheet and roast them, shaking the pan occasionally for even cooking, until they're evenly browned, about 1-1/2 hours. Remove the baking sheet from the oven and transfer the bones to a large stockpot. Add the chicken stock and bring it to a boil over high heat, skimming off the foam that rises to the top. Add the leek, onion, and carrot, reduce the heat, and simmer the stock for 1 hour, skimming as needed. Remove the stock from the heat, pour it through a fine-mesh strainer, and discard the contents of the strainer. Use the stock, or set aside to cool to room temperature, transfer it to an airtight container and refrigerate for up to three days.

To braise the veal, adjust the oven rack to the middle position and preheat the oven to 350°F.

Cut the veal in half, if necessary, for it to fit in the pan. Heat 1/4 cup of the oil over medium-high heat in a large Dutch oven or large, high-sided saute pan until the oil is almost smoking and slides easily in the pan, 2 to 3 minutes. Place the veal in the pan to sear to deep brown on all sides, 10 to 15 minutes. Remove the veal to a plate.

Add 2 tablespoons of the remaining olive oil to the pan. Reduce the heat to medium low, add the prosciutto, and cook, stirring constantly, to render the fat but not to brown the prosciutto, 2 to 3 minutes. Increase the heat to medium, add the remaining ¼ cup of olive oil, and warm the oil for a minute or two before adding the celery, carrot, and onion. Season the vegetables with the pepper, and saute until the veg­etables are softened and slightly caramelized, 10 to 15 minutes. Add the garlic and saute for 1 minute, stirring constantly to prevent it from browning. Move the vegetables to create a bare spot in the pan, add the tomato paste to that spot, and cook for 1 minute more, stirring, to caramelize the tomato paste slightly. Add the wine, increase the heat to high, and boil until it reduces by about half, about 5 minutes. Return the veal and any juices that have collected on the plate it was resting on to the pan. Pour in enough stock to come half to three-fourths of up the veal breast, about 4 cups. Increase the heat to medium high and bring the stock to a simmer. Turn off the heat. If you have industrial-strength plastic wrap, which won't melt in the oven, cover the Dutch oven or pan tightly with plastic wrap. In either case, cover tightly with aluminum foil and place the lid on if it has one. Place the veal in the oven for 2 hours. Remove the pot from the oven and uncover it. Add the turnips, nestling them in the sauce, return the lid to the pot, and place it back in the oven for about 1 hour, until the meat is fork-tender and the vegetables are tender. Remove the veal from the oven and remove and discard the foil and plastic wrap (if you used it) from the pan, being careful not to burn yourself with the steam that will rise from the pan. Allow the meat to cool in the braising liquid for at least 30 minutes. You can prepare the veal to this point up to five days in advance. Cool the meat and turnips to room temperature in the braising liquid. Remove the vegetables and transfer them to an airtight container. Cover the pot with plastic or transfer the veal with the liquid to an airtight container and refrigerate until you are ready to serve it. (You will proceed slightly differently.) If you have prepared the veal in advance and are rewarming it, preheat the oven to 350°F. Remove the veal and turnips from the refriger­ator. Remove and discard the fat from the liquid and pour it into a large Dutch oven or stovetop-safe baking dish and cook as directed below to thicken. Remove the string and slice the veal as directed below and lay the slices in the sauce, resting them on top of one another, domino fashion. Nestle the turnips around the veal and place the dish in the oven for about 30 minutes, basting the vegetables and the veal with the sauce occasionally, until the meat is warmed through.

I

f you are serving the dish the same day, remove the veal and turnips to a plate, skim the fat from the braising liquid, and bring the liquid to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat and simmer the liquid until it is the consistency of a thick glaze or thin gravy, stirring occa­sionally to prevent it from sticking to the pan; it will be thick enough to coat the back of a spoon.

To make the garnish, combine the parsley leaves, celery leaves, and lemon zest in a medium bowl. Drizzle the leaves with the finishing-quality olive oil, sprinkle with sea salt, and toss gently to combine.

To serve, cut off and discard the string from the veal and cut it into eight slices of even thickness. Lay two slices of veal on each of four plates, resting one at an angle on top of the other. Nestle the turnips around the veal, dividing them evenly, and ladle the sauce over the meat. Pile the garnish on each serving, dividing it evenly, and serve.

Tricolore With Parmigiano-Reggiano And Anchovy Dressing

The Mozza Cookbook

Nancy Silverton Matt Molina

for the dressing

5              anchovy fillets (preferably salt-packed), rinsed and backbones removed if salt-packed

1-1/2       tablespoons red wine vinegar

1       tablespoon fresh lemon juice, plus more to taste

1       large garlic clove, finely chopped

½       teaspoon kosher salt, plus more to taste

¼       teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus more to taste

½       cup extra-virgin olive oil

for the salad

3       large heads red Belgian endive, or 1 large head radicchio leaves, leaves torn into large pieces

3       large heads frisee

6              cups loosely packed arugula (preferably wild arugula)

Kosher salt

¼ cup + 3       tablespoons

freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano

The red, green and white tricolore salad, traditionally composed of radicchio, frisee, and endive, is just one of the many ways that Italians celebrate their flag. I like tricolore salads, but this version, which is tossed in an anchovy-enhanced dressing with lots of grated Parmigiano-Reggiano, was my way of sneaking the flavors of a Caesar salad onto the Pizzeria menu without calling it a Caesar. In the rare instance that a Caesar salad is done well, it is one of my favorite salads, but Caesar salad is such a cliché on Italian-American menus—and it's not even Italian; it was invented in Tijuana—I could never have put it on my menu as such.

Serves 4 as a Starter or 2 as a Main Course

To make the dressing, combine the anchovies, vinegar, lemon juice, garlic, salt, and pepper in the bowl of a food processor fitted with a metal blade or the jar of a blender and puree. With the motor running, add the olive oil in a steady stream through the feed tube to create an emulsion. Turn off the machine, taste for seasoning, and add more salt, pepper, or lemon juice, if desired. Use the dressing or transfer it to an airtight container and refrigerate for up to three days. Bring the dressing to room temperature, whisk to recombine the ingredients, and taste again for seasoning before using.

To prepare the salad, discard any brown or unappealing outer leaves from the endive and frisee. Pull the leaves away from the cores, putting them in a large, wide bowl, and discard the cores. Add the arugula, sprinkle with salt, and toss gently to combine the lettuces and distribute the salt evenly. Drizzle 1/2 cup of the dressing, sprinkle with 1/4 cup of the Parmigiano-Reggiano, and toss gently to coat the lettuce leaves with the dressing. Taste for seasoning and add more salt or dressing, if desired.

Pile the salad on a large plate or divide it among four individual plates. Sprinkle with the remaining 3 tablespoons of the Parmigiano-Reggiano and serve.