Equipment
Ingredients
Veal Roast
- 1000 g boneless veal shoulder, rolled and tied
- 8 g kosher salt
- 2 g black pepper, freshly cracked
- 30 ml grapeseed oil
- 30 g unsalted butter
Braising Aromatics
- 1 onion, roughly chopped
- 1 carrot, roughly chopped
- 1 celery stalk, roughly chopped
- 4 garlic cloves, smashed
- 200 ml dry white wine
- 500 ml veal stock
- 4 fresh thyme, sprigs
- 1 bay leaf
Cardamom Spinach Puree
- 150 ml heavy cream
- 8 green cardamom pods, crushed
- 600 g fresh spinach, washed and stemmed
- 40 g unsalted butter, cold, cubed
- salt
Nutrition (per serving)
Method
Pat the veal shoulder dry with paper towels and season generously on all sides with salt and cracked black pepper. Preheat the oven to 150°C (300°F).
In a small saucepan over low heat, combine heavy cream and crushed cardamom pods. Bring to a bare simmer, then remove from heat and let infuse for at least 20 minutes.
Heat grapeseed oil in the Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Sear the veal shoulder on all sides until deeply golden brown, about 3-4 minutes per side.
Remove meat and set aside. Reduce heat to medium, add the 30g butter, onion, carrot, celery, and smashed garlic. Sauté until softened and lightly browned.
Deglaze the pan with white wine, scraping up the fond (browned bits) from the bottom. Reduce the wine by half.
Return the veal to the pot. Add stock, thyme, and bay leaf. The liquid should come about halfway up the meat. Bring to a simmer, cover tightly, and transfer to the oven for 2.5 to 3 hours, or until the meat is fork-tender.
While the meat rests, bring a large pot of salted water to a rolling boil. Prepare an ice water bath. Blanch the spinach for 30 seconds only, then immediately transfer to the ice bath to shock it.
Squeeze as much water as possible out of the spinach using a clean kitchen towel. Strain the infused cream to remove cardamom pods.
Place spinach and infused cream into a high-speed blender. Blend until perfectly smooth. Add the cold cubed butter (40g) while blending to emulsify. Season with salt.
Remove veal from pot and rest loosely covered. Strain the braising liquid into a saucepan and reduce over high heat until it coats the back of a spoon (nappé consistency).
Slice the veal into thick rounds. Plate atop a swoosh of cardamom spinach puree and spoon the reduced braising glaze over the meat.
Chef's Notes
- Squeezing the spinach dry is crucial. If the spinach is too wet, the puree will be watery and separate on the plate.
- For the ultimate smooth texture, pass the finished spinach puree through a fine-mesh sieve (tamis) using a ladle.
- Resting the meat for at least 20 minutes before slicing allows the juices to redistribute, preventing them from leaking out onto the plate.
- The cardamom should be a subtle background note, not a dominant spice. Taste the infused cream before adding it to the spinach.
Storage
Refrigerator: 3 days — Store meat in its braising liquid to prevent drying out. Spinach puree loses vibrant color after 24 hours.
Freezer: 2 months — Meat freezes well in sauce; spinach puree texture may degrade upon thawing.
Reheating: Reheat meat gently in sauce on stove. Reheat spinach in a double boiler to prevent scorching.
