Blanquette with spring vegetables from Jean-François Trap

Its restaurants are still closed. This did not prevent the great Jean-François Trap from feasting us by bringing out the ultimate foodies bible The book of great French cuisine , which lists the best bourgeois and popular recipes reviewed by the starred chef .

Seasonality obliges, with the arrival of fine weather, impossible not to give in to your blanquette with spring vegetables to simmer after going to the market.

Check, trim and degrease the pieces of veal shoulder if necessary.

Blanch the meat. Place the pieces in a Russian and wet with cold water. Bring to a boil and blanch for a few minutes. Skim carefully then cool and drain the pieces. Rinse and reserve the Russian for cooking.

Prepare the aromatic garnish.

Peel and wash the carrots , onions , leeks , celery , parsley stems and garlic cloves thoroughly. Cut the carrots into large sticks and the onions into quarters. Stud on the heel side, an onion with 2 cloves. Make the bouquet garni with the parsley stems, thyme, bay leaf, leeks and celery.

Mark the blanquette during cooking. Place the blanched pieces of meat in the Russian. Add cold water or white veal stock 2 or 3 cm above the pieces. Season with coarse salt and bring to a boil. Skim carefully and add the aromatic garnish . Cook gently and covered for 40 to 50 minutes. Make the white roux, and cool it quickly.

Soak the onions for a few minutes in lukewarm water, then peel and rinse them. Mark them during cooking with white icing. Place the small onions in an appropriately sized sauté pan. Wet almost up with water. Salt then add the butter and a little sugar.

Cover with baking paper. Cook gently for about twenty minutes until the cooking water has completely evaporated, the small onions should be coated with a shiny film composed of butter and sugar. Peel, wash and cut the mushrooms . Mark them while cooking in a little salted boiling water with a little butter and the juice of half a lemon.

Mark the rice during cooking. Rinse the rice thoroughly. Mark it while cooking in a large quantity of salted boiling water. Stir until it comes to a boil again. Cook gently and covered for about 14 to 16 minutes. Cool completely and drain the rice.

Decant the meat and make the velouté. Make sure the meat is cooked and then decant it in a stainless steel cabinet. Pass the cooking stock through a Chinese cheesecloth. Pour the boiling stock over the cold roux and stir until boiling again using a small whisk. Let the soup cook gently for about ten minutes.

Clarify the eggs and mix the yolks with the cream.

Finish the blanquette sauce. Gradually add, off the heat, the mixture to the velouté. Stir with a sauce whisk and return to the boil for a few seconds. Check the smoothness and seasoning. Pass the sauce in a Chinese cheesecloth over the pieces of meat. Add the well-drained mushrooms and the onions. Cover the blanquette in a bain-marie.

Heat the rice and dress the blanquette . Place the rice in a large buttered deep dish, salt it lightly then spread a few pieces of butter on the surface. Cover the rice with buttered parchment paper and place it in a low oven for about ten minutes. Fluff the rice occasionally with a fork.

Arrange the blanquette lightly in a dome in 1 vegetable dish. Distribute the filling on top and cover without excess with the sauce. Arrange the rice in a lightly domed vegetable dish.

© Nicolas Lobbestael

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