Roast Stuffed Breast of Veal

Name: Roast Stuffed Breast of Veal
Ingredients: 3 cups country bread, day old or slightly dried, crusts removed, cut in 1-inch cubes; 3/4 cup milk; 1/2 pound mortadella (or ham), cut into 1-inch chunks (about 1 cup); 1 medium onion, peeled and cut into 1-inch chunks; 1 medium-large carrot, peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces; 2 stalks celery, cut into 1-inch pieces; 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil; 4 big prunes, pitted, chopped into 1/3-inch pieces; 1/4 cup toasted pine nuts; 3 tablespoons freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano or Grana Padano; 2 tablespoons chopped fresh Italian parsley; 1/4 teaspoon salt; 1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper; 1 egg, beaten with a pinch of salt; 3 1/2-to-5-pound veal breast, bone-in (see below); 1 teaspoon coarse sea salt or crystal kosher salt; 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil; 5 medium onions, peeled and cut into 1-inch chunks; 3 medium to large carrots, peeled and cut into 1-inch chunks; 4 celery stalks, cut into 1-inch pieces; 4 plump garlic cloves, peeled; 8 large pitted prunes, whole; 1 packed tablespoon fresh rosemary needles; 6 whole cloves; 1/4 cup dried porcini slices, crumbled or chopped into small pieces; 1 teaspoon whole black peppercorns; 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil; 1/2 to 1 teaspoon coarse sea salt or crystal kosher salt, or more to taste, or none; 1 cup white wine; 2 cups or more Turkey Broth (page 80), Simple Vegetable Broth (page 288), or water

December 14, 2011

This recipe will seem long to you, but read it through once or twice and it will become very clear that all we are doing is stuffing a piece of meat, roasting it, and making gravy to serve it with. That’s something I’m sure you have done any number of times—only in this case it is a breast of veal, which will yield delicious results. Breast of veal—bone-in breast specifically—is another wonderful meat cut that I hope you come to love as much as I do. Like the preceding shoulder cuts, it has a good deal of connective tissue, bones, and cartilage, which contribute to the flavor and texture of the meat, especially during long cooking. Because it comes from young animals, the ribs in the breast are just developing: there’s lots of soft cartilage, and you can just pull out the ribs after cooking, so serving and slicing are convenient. Stuffing the breast is the fun part. The muscle layers easily separate and hold a generous amount of savory filling; then, when it’s cooked and sliced, the cross sections of meat and stuffing make a beautiful presentation. It looks like an eye, with the meat as the lids. If you’ve tried any of the other roasts in this chapter, the procedure here will be familiar: covered roasting for tenderness and flavor, dry roasting for deep color and crisp textures—and developing a great sauce at the same time. The only difficulty you may find with this recipe is getting a nice big piece of veal breast, preferably the tip cut. It’s not always easy for me either, as you’ll understand when you read the box and study the technique photos here and on page 357. But if we all keep asking our butchers for veal-breast tip cuts, they’ll get the message—we want those excellent, traditional cuts of meat, and we want to stuff them ourselves!

Recipe notes