69: Tuscan-Style Veal Stew Braised in Red Wine & Herbs

Amber's best friend, Mindy, was in town, and she asked me to cook for them. It’s been on the cooler side lately, so I thought this was another good excuse – not that I really need excuse because I just love it – to do some slow cooking. After a day of doing some sightseeing on The National Mall, including the new MLK Memorial, I headed home to prepare dinner while the ladies continued on to museums.

This dinner is a hybrid of sorts. I’ve cooked this Tuscan-style stew a couple times before, but I wanted to incorporate my Holy Trinity to add to an already flavor-packed stew. Additionally, I substituted veal for the pork. The result was mouthwatering, if I do say so myself.

I’ve been sitting on this 2002 Benotto Monferrato Nebbiolo for over two years. I thought this would be a good occasion to drink it, and it matched up well with the acidity provided by the tomatoes. The wine had nice hints of dark fruit and a balanced dry finish with pleasant tannins.

Ingredients and Directions:

2lbs veal shoulder, cut into 1.5 inch cubes

Will’s Holy Trinity

-1 cup leeks, thinly sliced

-1 cup carrots, diced

-1 cup fennel, diced

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 cup fresh parsley leaves

1.5 cups hearty red wine

28 oz can whole peeled tomatoes (chop tomatoes, reserve liquid)

2 branches fresh rosemary

12 fresh sage leaves

1 garlic clove, peeled and halved

Olive Oil

Salt + pepper

Day old baguette cut in half

Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese for garnish

Heat a few tablespoons of olive oil over medium heat in a 6 quart dutch oven. Sauté the Holy Trinity with minced garlic and salt and pepper for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Now add the veal cubes with a little more salt and pepper, stir, and cook until it has taken on a slight golden edge, about 5-8 minutes. Stir in the red wine with parsley next, stir well, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer for 25 minutes. The wine should have reduced by half at this point.

Slowly add the tomatoes and its juices to the pan, and stir well to mix everything together. Then add the rosemary and sage, ensuring you push the herbs down into the tomato juices. Bring to a boil once more, reduce heat as low as you can, cover and cook for 2 hours. The end result should be incredibly tender veal and a somewhat thick sauce. Cook a little longer if need be.

Preheat the broiler. While the stew finishes cooking, rub bread with halved garlic cloves. Toast the bread under the broiler, but be sure to keep a close eye on it as you will only need a couple minutes on each side to crisp it up nice enough. Remove the bread and coarsely chop. Serve the stew over the bread crumbs and garnish with cheese.

Enjoy!!