Stufato di Vitello – Veal Stew

It is that time of year when braised meats and stews just sound wonderful.  This week, my local grocery store had beautiful cubed veal available, so I created this simple-to-prepare, make-ahead, one-pot stew that is great reheated on a week night but elegant enough to serve at a dinner party.

Ingredients:

• ¼ cup all-purpose flour
• 2 pounds boneless veal shoulder, cut into 2” pieces
• 2 Tbsp. vegetable oil
• ½ tsp. each oregano, salt and pepper
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1 pound Cremini mushrooms, quartered
• 2 Tbsp. Dijon mustard
• 3 cups chicken broth
• 1 cup dry white wine
• ½ cup heavy cream

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees.
2. In a shallow dish sprinkle the flour over the veal cubes then coat the meat lightly.
3. Heat the oil in a large Dutch oven over high heat until it is nearly smoking.  Season floured meat with salt and pepper, add to hot pot and brown on all sides, about 3 minutes.  If your pot isn’t wide enough to accommodate all the meat in one layer, brown in two batches.  Place cooked veal on a platter and reserve for later use.
4. In the same pot the meat was seared in, add the onion and cook over medium-high heat until softened and slightly golden, about 4 minutes.  Add the mushrooms to the pot and sauté for 5 minutes, stirring often.  If the onion-mushroom mixture becomes dry while cooking, add 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil and lower the heat to medium.
5. Add the Dijon mustard, the oregano, the broth and the wine to the onion-mushroom mixture and cook for 5 minutes over medium heat, scraping the browned bits from the bottom of the pot with a wooden spoon.
6. Return the veal and its juices to the pot, add the cream, stir well to combine all the ingredients and place in the oven.  Cook for 3 hours.

Serves 4.

Notes:  The stew can be refrigerated for up to 3 days.  Serve over white rice or egg noodles.