Region: Italy
Category: Veal
Season: Any
Difficulty: Labor Intensive
Not many people make veal breast anymore. Probably because it needs a long time cooking and now that Americans are so wealthy everyone seems to buy a New York strip instead. But these older, tougher cuts of meat are magnificent when braised a long time. This recipe is influenced by a Sicilian one, and it is very nice. Ask the butcher to make a pocket in the breast, leaving the bone on, or do this yourself by following the instructions at "How to Butterfly" in the Cooking Tips.
Yield: Makes 4 servings
Preparation Time: 1:45 hours
6 stale slices of white Italian or French bread
1 cup milk
1/4 cup finely chopped ham
1 1/2 tablespoons pistachios, shelled
1/4 cup chopped imported green olives
1/4 cup ricotta cheese
1 large egg yolk
Pinch of dried sage
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
One 3-pound veal breast on the bone
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1. Preheat the oven to 350ºF.
2. In a bowl, crumble the stale bread into the milk to soak. Squeeze excess milk out and return the bread to the bowl with the ham, pistachios, olives, egg yolk, sage and salt and pepper.
3. Stuff the stuffing into the pocket of the veal breast. Close the opening by tying off with kitchen twine or by threading a wooden skewer through the opening, clipping off the two ends of the skewer with a shrub pruner. Lay the stuffed breast in a deep roasting pan. Cover with the olive oil. Roast the veal until tender, about 1 1/2 hours. Serve with the juices.
Posted: 01/02/2007
