French Blanquette de Veau
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~$7.50 CAD per serving (estimate)
Ingredients
- 1.4 kgveal shoulder or stew veal, cut into 4cm pieces (veal & braise)
- 1.5 Llow-sodium chicken or vegetable broth (veal & braise)
- 3carrots, chunked (veal & braise)
- 2celery stalks, chunked (veal & braise)
- 1leek, sliced (veal & braise)
- 1onion studded with 2 bay leaves (veal & braise)
- 1 tspwhole black peppercorns (veal & braise)
- Fresh thyme (veal & braise — fresh thyme)
- 60 gall-purpose flour (sauce & garnish)
- 3 tbspghee (sauce & garnish)
- 240 mlsoy cream (sauce & garnish)
- 400 gbutton or cremini mushrooms, quartered (sauce & garnish)
- 250 gpearl onions (fresh or frozen) (sauce & garnish)
- 1 tbspDijon mustard (optional) (sauce & garnish)
- Juice of 1 lemon (sauce & garnish)
- 2egg yolks (optional liaison) (sauce & garnish)
- 30 gslivered almonds (garnish) (sauce & garnish)
- 600 gharicots verts (thin green beans) (haricots verts + rice or noodles)
- 480 gbrown rice OR 400g wide egg noodles (haricots verts + rice or noodles)
- 2 tbspolive oil, garlic, salt (haricots verts + rice or noodles)
Nutrition / serving
- Calories595 kcal
- Protein44 g
- Carbs46 g
- Fat24 g
- Fiber5 g
Cost Estimate
~$7.50 CAD per serving (estimate)
France's beloved white veal stew: gently poached veal in a silky velouté brightened with lemon and mushrooms — never browned, always pale, and comforting to the last spoon.
Instructions
Pressure cook the veal
Place the veal in the pressure cooker and cover with broth. Add the carrots, celery, leek, studded onion, peppercorns and thyme. Cook 25 min at high pressure, then let the pressure drop naturally for 10 min. Stovetop alternative: bring to a gentle simmer, skim the foam, cover and simmer low 1 hr 15 min. Never brown the veal — blanquette stays pale.
Strain
Strain, reserving veal and 1 L of the broth. Discard aromatics.
Sauté mushrooms and onions
Sauté mushrooms and pearl onions in 1 tbsp ghee until golden. Set aside.
Make the velouté
Make velouté: melt 3 tbsp ghee, whisk in flour, cook 2 min without coloring. Slowly whisk in reserved broth. Simmer 8–10 min to thicken.
Finish the sauce
Stir in soy cream, Dijon, lemon juice. Add veal, mushrooms, onions. Warm through gently.
Egg-yolk liaison
Optional liaison: temper egg yolks with a ladle of hot sauce, stir back in off heat — keep below 80°C (176°F) so yolks don't curdle.
Sides and garnish
Cook rice/noodles. Blanch green beans 4 min, toss with oil and garlic. Garnish blanquette with almonds.
Freeze & Reheat
Portion 2 servings (veal + sauce + rice/noodles). Freeze up to 2 months — sauce may separate slightly. Reheat covered on low, stirring gently 8–10 min; add 2 tbsp soy cream or oat milk if the sauce looks broken. Green beans always fresh.
Thermomix method
Thermomix
velouté: Melt ghee 2 min/90°C/speed 2, add flour, cook 3 min/100°C/speed 3. Whisk in broth, cook 10 min/100°C/speed 3. Add soy cream, Dijon, lemon, mix 30 sec/speed 4. Braise the veal traditionally for best texture.
Pressure cooker method
Total, start to finish
About 1 hr 5 min, of which roughly 30 min is active. The pressure cooker replaces the 1 hr 15 min poach and nothing else — the velouté is still made in a pan.
Pressure cook the veal
Veal, broth, carrots, celery, leek, studded onion, peppercorns and thyme into the pot. Cook 25 min at high pressure and let the pressure fall naturally for 10 min. Do not brown anything first: the pale colour is the dish.
Strain and build the sauce
Strain, keeping the veal and 1 L of broth. While the veal rests, sauté the mushrooms and pearl onions in ghee until golden, then make the velouté: ghee, flour 2 min without colouring, the reserved broth whisked in slowly, 8 to 10 min to thicken.
Finish
Stir in the soy cream, Dijon and lemon. Add the veal, mushrooms and onions and warm through gently. Temper the egg yolks in off the heat if you are using them, keeping the sauce below 80°C (176°F).
Chef's Cool Facts
Blanc means white
"Blanquette" comes from "blanc" (white) — the veal is never browned and the sauce stays pale and creamy.
France's favorite dish
It was voted France's favorite dish in a 2006 national poll, beating boeuf bourguignon.
The egg-yolk liaison
The final egg-yolk "liaison" thickens without scrambling — kept below 80°C so the yolks emulsify rather than curdle.