Region: Italy
Category: Veal
Season: Any
Difficulty: Medium Difficulty
Veal chops are not all that common a cut. Well, they’re common in traditional New York steak houses, but for some reason only fine supermarkets and butchers actually sell veal chops. 
I don’t know why this is, given how much Americans like steaks. The veal is fried until golden brown while the mushrooms cook separately in some olive oil, garlic, and Marsala wine. Then the mushrooms are put on top of the veal and served. There are several influences at work here: first, the mushrooms point to certain kinds of sylvan-pastoral cooking as you would find it in the Apennine Napoletano mountains of south central Italy as well as in the Madonie of Sicily. But the use of grapeseed oil is somewhat typical of old-style cookery in the Veneto, the region where Venice is the capital. The fresh coriander is not a typical peninsular herb, but it is quite often used with meat cookery across the Sicilian Channel in Tunisia. It would be nice to serve with mashed potatoes.
[photo: Food & Wine, November 2001]
Yield: Makes 4 servings
Preparation Time: 40 minutes
4 veal chops (about 2 1/2 pounds)
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
1 teaspoon grapeseed or vegetable oil
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
4 large garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 pound cremini mushrooms, sliced
1/2 cup finely chopped fresh coriander leaves
1/2 cup dry Marsala wine
1. Season the veal chops with salt and pepper. In a large skillet, preferably cast-iron or carbon steel, heat the grapeseed oil until smoking, then place the veal chops in and cook until golden brown and crusty on both sides, about 8 minutes in all. Turn the heat to medium-low and cook until springy to the touch, which is medium rare to medium, about 30 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, in another skillet, heat the olive oil with the garlic until sizzling, then add the mushrooms, season with salt and pepper, and cook until there is very little liquid and the mushrooms are golden brown, about 15 minutes. Add the coriander and Marsala and cook until it evaporates, about 5 minutes.
3. Transfer the veal chops to a warm serving platter and put the mushrooms on top and serve.
Variation:
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Posted: 01/02/2007