This week we are pairing the delicious Marri Wood Park Chenin Blanc with some juicy and tender crumbed veal cutlet. The dish is paired with beautifully salty and acidic caper butter and a fresh salad of fennel and green apple. This dish is a quick one to make and is great mid-week or for a fancier dinner party. Read on to see my tips & tricks, how I make it, and what you could substitute if you weren't a veal fan!
CRUMBED VEAL CUTLET - HOW?
Let's start with the most important thing - the protein. How do I crumb it and how should I cook it? It's pretty simple really, but sure isn't everything when you know how? Start by getting all your ingredients ready. The best way to cook is to be organised and have a clean kitchen. Don't worry you don't need to spend 30 minutes scrubbing the floors, just make sure the surfaces are covered in 1001 pictures your kid has brought home from daycare/school 😉
For this method, we are crumbing the veal, shallow frying it, and finishing it in the oven. In order to crumb it, we need 4 plates. Don't worry we can just chuck 'em all in the dishwasher or get the teens over to the sink! 1 plate add your seasoned flour, another your beaten egg, the third breadcrumbs & chopped parsley, and a 4th plate for the finished product.
Using one hand dip the veal into the flour, trying to get an even coating. Using the same hand dip it into the egg mix, raise and allow the excess to drip off and finally dredge (fancy word for dip) it into the breadcrumb mix. Use the clean hand to sprinkle some crumbs over if necessary. Once done place it on a plate and onto cutlet number 2.
CAN I USE ANOTHER CUT OF VEAL
Sure can. The cut you often see being used is escalope. This comes from the hind leg, it is very tender with little to no fat in it. Pounded thin almost like a minute steak it is pretty much ALWAYS crumbed and flash fried. If using this cut then the cooking times will certainly vary to what the crumbed veal cutlet recipe below states. I would shallow fry it for 1-2 minutes per side.
WHAT DOES SHALLOW FRY MEAN?
To shallow fry something is guess what, the opposite to deep frying it 😉 This method is used when you want to fry something in oil but not have it completely submerged in oil. To pan-fry something means a small amount of oil in a frying pan. When shallow-frying we would use a larger amount of oil in a shallow casserole pan or a high sided frying pan and add about 1-2cm worth of oil to the pan.
CAN I USE OTHER MEAT
What could I use instead of veal? Loads of options - pork cutlet, pork chop or pork fillet would work great. Chicken breast or thigh too. You could even use steak and make the American "chicken fried steak" although steak for me shouldn't be crumbed or deep-fried! Each to their own. If you are gluten-free or just don't want the breadcrumbs then feel free to pan fry the cut of meat but the crunchy texture that the crumbs give adds another dimension to the dish!
LEMON CAPER SAUCE
Couldn't be any easier unless you bought it pre-made!! This sauce has 5 ingredients and all you need to do is chop 2 of them and mix them all together in a saucepan. Literally, from start to finish this sauce will take you 5 minutes. Just the right amount of time for that crumbed veal cutlet to rest whilst you whip it up!!
First, crush the garlic, juice some lemon & chop the parsley. Grab a small saucepan, chuck the butter in and let it melt, add the garlic, lemon juice, and capers and cook for about a minute. Remove from the heat and stir in the parsley. Simple!!
You could warm your butter for a little longer before adding the capers & lemon juice. This would take about 3-4 minutes more to do but it would create beautiful brown butter and it adds a lovely nutty flavour to the dish. You will know when your butter is ready to add the ingredients to it when it starts to foam slightly.
APPLE FENNEL SALAD
Another delicious and simple addition to the crumbed veal cutlet recipe. A simple fennel & apple salad. In keeping with the rest of the recipe, this is a quick, easy, and yummy salad that pairs perfectly with the dish. All you need to do is slice the fennel & apple super thinly using a sharp knife or a mandoline, add some of the fennel fronds, salad leaves, and a quick dressing of olive oil and lemon juice and you are done. The crisp acidic apple and the delightful anise flavours of fennel are the perfect accompaniment to veal.
MARRI WOOD PARK WINERY
As mentioned at the beginning this recipe was created for Marri Wood Park winery and their delicious 2018 Chenin blanc. They are a family-owned and operated winery in Yallingup in the Margaret River wine region. It is biodynamically certified and produces Chenin blanc, Sauvignon blanc, and Cabernet sauvignon. On the farm, they keep geese, sheep, cows, and guinea fowl. They all roam the property freely to help keep pests at bay and naturally fertilise the farm. All bottles are lovingly bottled by hand, a time-consuming task but just one of the reasons that make up the charm of this family-operated winery. I'll let you into a secret the other reason is the product inside the bottle 😉
WINE PAIRING
In case you hadn't guessed by now we are working with the beautiful 2018 Marri Wood Park Chenin Blanc. Given that I created the recipe with the wine in mind I know its a cracking fit 😉 When we think of Chenin we think of France and Vouvray. A beautiful region doing amazing things with the Chenin grape. It isn't one that is readily available here in Australia so when you can get your hands on wine of this caliber for the price that it is there is only 1 sensible thing to do. BUY A CASE!!! It is drinking so well now but Chenin is a wine that's built to last. The beauty of it is you can enjoy some now with friends, taste some again next year and the year after. Heck even 5-10 years later and see how well it has evolved.
Right now, my humble palate gets notes of lemon, lime & grapefruit. A slight chalkiness and some sea air on the nose. As it warmed and opened up in the glass Mrs. AnotherFoodBlogger got rhubarb & berries on the nose and the palate started to offer apricot & pear and a little apple. Tons of juicy acidity and a touch of honey. As it ages the honey will become more pronounced as the acidity mellows out. The finish is really balanced and has a great length too.
As always, I'd love to see your creations and hear from you if you have any Q's. Hit me up or tag me in Instagram.
Happy Cooking and Happy Eating Friends!!!
Ingredients
- 2 veal cutlets 250g each
- 40 g panko breadcrumbs
- salt/pepper
- 1 tbsp parsley chopped
- 50 g flour
- 1 eggs beaten
- 50 ml milk
- 300 ml canola oil
Sauce
- 1 tbsp parsley chopped
- 2 tbsp capers
- 50 g butter
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 1 clove garlic crushed
Salad
- 1/2 green apple
- 1/2 bulb fennel
- 100 g mixed leaves
- 1 tsp lemon juice
- 1 tbsp olive oil
Instructions
Veal
- Heat oven to 180c
- Place flour, egg and panko/chopped parsley onto 3 separate plates
- Season the veal and dip into the flour, then the egg and finally the panko mix. Coat the veal evenly in breadcrumbs and set aside. Repeat with 2nd cutlet and place in fridge while you get the remaining ingredients ready.
- In deep saute/frying pan heat oil to 180c
- Add veal gently to the oil and fry for 1-2 minutes per side until golden and crispy
- Remove from oil and place on a wire rack on a baking tray and cook for 12-14 minutes at 180c or until internal temp is 60-62c
- Rest for 3-4 minutes or as long as it takes you to prepare the sauce ?
Salad
- Remove the outer layers of fennel, cut the top off, cut in ½ and cut out the root/core. You should be left with ½ a bulb (root removed). Pick the fennel fronds and set aside
- Slice the apple in ½ and remove the core
- Using a sharp knife or mandoline slice the apple & fennel as thin as you can slice it and add to a bowl, add fronds & salad leaves
- Mix the oil & lemon juice together, toss the salad with dressing and jobs done!
Sauce
- On a medium heat melt butter in saucepan.
- Add garlic, lemon juice and capers and cook for 30 seconds to 1 minute
- Remove from heat and stir in parsley
Serving
- Place veal cutlet on a plate, spoon sauce over the veal and a little salad on the side
- Devour!
Notes
Essential Tools
- plates x 4
- baking tray
- wire rack
- deep frying pan
- saucepan
- mixing bowl
- chopping board
- chef knives
- mandoline (optional)
Tips/Tricks
- you can substitute bone-in veal cutlets for veal steak or escalope – I would pound the veal using a saucepan prior to crumbing it. It will only take 2 minutes per side to fry this way
- season, season, season. Season the veal prior to coating in flour and season it with finishing salt prior to serving
- you can substitute homemade breadcrumbs if you have some old bread you need to use up – just blend them up so they are fine enough to use. Heck, if you are really stuck you could use some good old crushed cornflakes ?
- you can melt the butter for a few extra minutes prior to adding garlic etc to create what is called brown butter – the butter will start to foam slightly and then you will know it’s ready. It creates a more nutty flavour.
- if you aren’t a fan of bread or are gluten-free then veal free to fry the veal cutlet in a frying pan and omit the breadcrumbs.
Absolutely love this one. Sometimes I have difficulty getting good quality veal cutlets and have found that this works really well with a nice pork cutlet. Never fails to impress
Awesome - keep up the good work!
This was delicious Gavin! And easy enough that my husband could make it without supervision.... always a bonus when I'm after a night off.
Night off - what’s that? My wife hasn’t cooked for me other than Uber eats in 9years ??
What a delicious and orignal way to serve veal! We usually only have it on the bbq in summer but with this recipe we could definitely enjoy veal all year round!
DEFO try it with a glass of chenin!!
Another great mid week meal, that lemon caper sauce looks delicious! Such a versatile cooking method that would work well with plenty of other meats to.