Spring Veal Stew

Name: Spring Veal Stew
Total time: 1 h
Yield: 4 servings
Ingredients: 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil; 1 tablespoon butter; 1 1/2 to 2 pounds veal cubes, no side larger than 1 1/2 inches; 1 sprig fresh tarragon, or 1/2 teaspoon dried tarragon; 1 pound spring onions or shallots, peeled (if large, trimmed and halved), or scallions, each cut in 2 or 3 pieces; Salt and freshly ground black pepper; 1/2 cup white wine or water; 1 cup fresh shelled peas, snow peas or frozen peas

By Mark Bittman

Updated Feb. 28, 2024

Spring Veal Stew — Erik Olsen/The New York Times

Total Time: 1 hour
Rating: 4(142)
Notes: Read community notes

This is a wonderful springtime stew loaded with spring onions or shallots, fresh tarragon and peas. Much of the flavor comes from browning the veal cubes, but be careful: veal is pretty lean, so it doesn’t take long to dry out. Stewing it for 15 to 20 minutes (sometimes even less) with a little splash of white wine is all it takes. Add the peas at the end, and cook until they’re tender and warm — you don’t want to cook all the flavor out of them, especially if they’re fresh.

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Ingredients

Yield:4 servings

1tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1tablespoon butter
1½ to 2pounds veal cubes, no side larger than 1½ inches
1sprig fresh tarragon, or ½ teaspoon dried tarragon
1pound spring onions or shallots, peeled (if large, trimmed and halved), or scallions, each cut in 2 or 3 pieces
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
½cup white wine or water
1cup fresh shelled peas, snow peas or frozen peas

Ingredient Substitution Guide

Preparation

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Step 1
Put a 12-inch skillet over high heat, and a minute later add oil and butter. Add the meat, in one layer (if you use the larger amount of meat you may have to cook in batches). Cook, undisturbed, until the meat is nicely browned on the bottom, about 5 minutes.
Step 2
Add tarragon, onions and some salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until onions soften and any meat stuck to bottom of pan is released, about 5 minutes. Add liquid, stir, reduce heat to low, and cover. Cook 30 to 40 minutes, or until the veal is tender.
Step 3
Uncover, add peas and raise the heat to medium. Cook about 5 minutes, until the peas are done. Adjust seasoning, garnish if you like and serve.

Ratings

4 out of 5

142 user ratings

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Cooking Notes

Sheila6 years ago

Followed recipe exactly but at the end, the stew seemed it needed a bit more liquid. Made a slurry with wine and cornstarch and this made a brilliant light sauce. I'd suggest using baby carrots instead of peas if you only have frozen on hand. Shallots are delicious cooked like this as a vegetable. I'll use them again this way.

Sheri6 years ago

I made the slurry as well, but used flour instead of the cornstarch. It made a great sauce. I didn't add any peas, carrots, etc. I put veal with sauce over egg noodles. The recipe was very easy and a keeper.

Audrey6 years ago

Tried the slurry, as suggested, with good results. Would suggest parboiling the onions first and then cook the veal/onion combo only 15 minutes
- I cooked till the onions done, but the veal was tough.

jay6 years ago

Meat doesn't take nearly that long to cook. After covering it only let it cook on very low for about 15 minutes, then add the peas and another 10 minutes. If you cover it while the peas cook, the liquids won't boil away and there is plenty of sauce. The tarragon flavor wasn't very strong so perhaps it should be added at the very end? I think tarragon(fresh) is a more pronounced flavor if it isn't cooked very long.

PeppaD.6 years ago

The veal will be much more tender if you simply braise it gently, omitting the browning stage.

Deb6 years ago

Didn't have white wine so I used a red and it made a nice rich sauce. Be sure to not overcook the veal.

Es6 years ago

Very easy, very neutral dinner. I used shallots and also added more liquid, maybe a cup of water, mixed with Wondra flour, at the end (at the same time as I added the peas), so I would have sauce to go over egg fettuccini. If you cook this on the stove at a very low heat, you can not overcook the veal. I cooked it for a good 2 hours and it was tasty and tender. The peas added color and sweetness. Nice dinner!

Sonya6 years ago

This recipe is incredible served with gnocchi!

Carare1 year ago

I had my doubts this was going to work and I was right. I followed the recipe exactly and the meat was very tough. So I just left it on the stove at very low heat for another hour. When I went back to it the meat was much more tender and it tasted great over egg noodles.

Sbright2 years ago

Followed exactly, and veal was well browned. End result was tasteless.

Succubus4 years ago

One of my favorite dishes. If you look it up in the archives (March 26, 2012) you can find the other variations (Provençal; bacon & mushrooms) that were posted with the original recipe.

Jane4 years ago

Fantastic! I just made this for 2 adults and 4 little kids, and we all loved it. Used shallots and scallions. Also used cornstarch slurry as suggested in the comments (put it in with the peas). The veal was tender at 30 min after cooking on low. The fresh tarragon was delightful.

Hetta5 years ago

Not springtime but the butcher had veal stew so I thought I’d try it. I followed the advice to not brown the veal first. Instead I started with the shallots in the oil and butter, then added mushrooms, then the veal. Cooked it a bit before adding the wine, salt and pepper then just 15 minutes covered. Added frozen peas and lots of fresh tarragon. Served over rice. Very good and tender!

Beth Bochnak5 years ago

This was good. Next time I will add mushrooms and a little more wine. I sautéed the onions till they were caramelized, took them out and then quickly browned the meat and added the onions back in. Then I cooked about 15 minutes and added the peas. The veal stayed nice and tender.