Blanquette de veau (veal blanquette) is a veal stew that is definitely part of the French culinary heritage.
According to a survey carried out in 2006, this recipe from the French classic repertoire was voted the favorite French dish by the French, before couscous and mussels & fries, which between us, are not really of French origin. The blanquette recipe also came before other classics like boeuf bourguignon, pot-au-feu, rabbit in mustard sauce or coq au vin.
How to make blanquette de veau
Even though veal remains the preferred meat for blanquette, other white meats such as turkey, chicken, rabbit or pork are often used for this classic of French bourgeois cuisine.
The favorite veal cuts for blanquette are usually breast, shoulder or flank. The origin of the term “blanquette” comes from the color of the white sauce that coats the stew meat.
This sauce is prepared by making a liaison between egg yolks and the broth and incorporating fresh cream (creme fraiche). The blanquette is usually served with carrots, mushrooms, and pearl onion and is traditionally accompanied by rice but can also be served with pasta or potatoes.
What is the origin of blanquette de veau?
Like many old traditional recipes, the origin of this veal in cream sauce recipe is not really clear. Some historians believe that the blanquette would be the evolution of a classic recipe of the Middle Ages called brouet de poulet.
In this recipe, the chicken is poached in a broth with white wine and verjuice. It is then cut into pieces that are browned in lard. These pieces of chicken are then served in a sauce prepared with the cooking broth that is bound with almonds, bread crumbs, egg yolks, and spices. This last operation is reminiscent of the white sauce of the traditional blanquette recipe.
Other versions attribute the paternity of blanquette to Vincent La Chapelle (1690-1746), a French cook who was the chef of Lord Chesterfield in England and then of the Prince of Orange-Nassau, before becoming the chef of Madame de Pompadour and finally Louis XV.
In 1733, he published the blanquette de veau recipe in the first edition of “The Modern Cook” in two volumes in English. The last edition, in 5 volumes, was published in 1742.
In “Les Dons de Comus ou L’art de la cuisine” (1739), Francois Marin, chef of the Duchess of Gesvres before he worked for the Charles, Prince of Soubise, as a butler, published a multitude of classic recipes including blanquette de veau and boeuf miroton.
In 1752, the supplement to the Dictionnaire de Trévoux mentioned that “blanquette is a very common dish among the bourgeois when they are only with the family.” At that time, blanquette de veau was a dish prepared to make use of meat leftovers, often roasted, and that would therefore not be served to foreign guests.
It was only at the end of the nineteenth century that blanquette was truly democratized. One of the first recipes based on raw veal meat, cooked in a broth, was published in 1867 in the “Royal Cookery Book” by Jules Gouffé, chef of the Jockey Club. This recipe is very similar to the recipe as we know it today and that is served in French restaurants around the world.
In the French literature, two well known French police detectives, Maigret and San Antonio, have a weakness for this great classic.
The technique of the liaison of the sauce is reminiscent of that of avgolemono from Greece.
This veal stew recipe is validated by our culinary expert in French cuisine, Chef Simon. You can find Chef Simon on his website Chef Simon – Le Plaisir de Cuisiner.
Blanquette de Veau
Ingredients
- 2 lb veal , shoulder, chest or flank, cut into large cubes
- 1 onion , poked with whole cloves
- 1 bouquet garni (parsley, thyme, bay leaf, sage)
- 4 carrots , cut into large sections
- 1 cup dry white wine
- 10 oz. mushrooms , quartered
- 4 tablespoons butter
- ½ cup flour
- ¾ cup creme fraiche
- ½ lemon , juiced
- 3 egg yolks
Instructions
- Put the meat cubes in a large saucepan and cover with cold water. Bring to a boil and add salt.
- Skim regularly at the surface so that the broth becomes clear. After 20 minutes, add the onion stuck with cloves and the bouquet garni.
- Simmer for another 20 minutes, then add carrots and wine.
- Continue to simmer uncovered over low heat for another 45 minutes or until meat is tender. Add a little water during cooking if necessary. Remove the onion and the bouquet garni.
- Meanwhile, sauté the mushrooms in a frying pan for 2 minutes with a knob of butter. Add salt, pepper, add a ladle of broth and continue cooking for 5 minutes.
- Sauce (prepare a few minutes before serving)
- In a saucepan, melt the butter. Add the flour while whisking over low heat for 5 minutes.
- Gradually add cooking broth while whisking until a reaching a thick sauce consistency.
- Add creme fraiche as well as lemon juice, and continue cooking for 2 minutes.
- Take saucepan off the heat and add egg yolks. Whisk well to incorporate. Add this sauce back to the pan with the meat and vegetables. Add the mushrooms and gently stir to incorporate everything.
- Immediately serve the blanquette with rice.
Mike is “the devil” of the 196 flavors’ duo. Nicknamed as such by his friends, he is constantly in search of unusual recipes and techniques with impossible to find ingredients. The devil is always pushing the envelope, whether it is with humor or culinary surprises.
Aria says
This sounds so good and I love how versatile it is!Thank you!!
Joseph says
Outside of the cloves for the onion, I followed the writers directions. I thought it needed more salt, which I added to the roux. Overall, the meat was very tender and the sauce a little bland until I added the salt. I think the next time I make this, I’ll add pearl onions. I wasn’t sure how to mix the sauce with the meat. I just cleaned the pan I cooked the mushrooms in and then ladled the meat and vegetables into the pan. I topped those off with the sauce, gradually adding the stock.
Tim says
Why did you clean the pan that had had mushrooms in? If they were part of the final dish, you could have just dumped everything in their pan and carried on. My idea is that the pan will be carrying the flavours of the mushrooms, and so you actually cleaned away their flavour left behind
Tim says
This is something my gran would make, but she served it with riced potatoes. I used to love those meals, and she wasn’t even French!