Romanian veal stufat with new potatoes

Name: Romanian veal stufat with new potatoes
Ingredients: 1 kg veal leg; 1 level teaspoon of salt; 2 tablespoons of olive oil; 1 tablespoon of butter; 2 bunches of spring onions (200 g); 1 star anise; 200 ml white wine; 1/2 teaspoon ground pepper; 1 teaspoon dried thyme; 1 tablespoon duck fat (optional); 1000 ml water; 1 kg red-skinned new potatoes

Meat - Romanian veal stufat with new potatoes by Codruta J. - Recipia

Romanian veal stufat with new potatoes is a veal stew that needs time in the oven and cooks slowly, covered. After the long bake, the meat turns tender in the sauce with wine and spring onions, while the potatoes stay whole if you choose a waxy variety. I serve it with bread, so I can mop up the sauce too. Prep: 25 minutes. Cook: 202 minutes. Rest: 60 minutes. Total: 287 minutes. Serves: 5. About 630 kcal and 44 g protein per serving.

Ingredients

1 kg veal leg
1 level teaspoon of salt
2 tablespoons of olive oil
1 tablespoon of butter
2 bunches of spring onions (200 g)
1 star anise
200 ml white wine
1/2 teaspoon ground pepper
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 tablespoon duck fat (optional)
1000 ml water
1 kg red-skinned new potatoes

Preparation

1. Pat the veal leg dry with paper towels, cut the meat into bite-sized cubes and sprinkle with 1/2 teaspoon of salt. Refrigerate for 1 hour, then take it out and let it come to room temperature. 2. Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a pan and brown the meat in batches, for about 15 minutes in total, turning the cubes on all sides. Transfer them to a covered ovenproof dish. 3. In the same pan, add 1 tablespoon of butter, the spring onions roughly chopped, leaves and all, and the star anise. Cook for 5 minutes, until the onions start to soften, then remove the star anise and add the onions to the meat. 4. Pour 100 ml of wine into the pan and let it bubble for 2 minutes, scraping up anything left on the bottom. Pour the wine over the meat and onions. 5. Add 1/2 teaspoon of salt, the pepper, thyme, duck fat and 1000 ml of water to the dish, enough to cover the meat and onions. Cover and cook in the oven at 160-170°C for 2 hours. Every 30 minutes, take the dish out and stir gently; by the end, the meat should be tender. 6. Wash and peel the potatoes, cut them into quarters and add them to the dish with the remaining 100 ml of wine. Cover and return to the oven for 1 hour, until the potatoes are tender but still hold their shape.

Notes

The stufat keeps in the fridge in a covered dish for up to 3 days and can be made a day ahead. You can replace the water with the same amount of beef or chicken stock, and leave out the duck fat. I plan to make it a few hours before the meal, since the oven time is hard to shorten. Ribeye with a little fat works well for stufat; if you use leg, cut the meat into similarly sized cubes so it cooks evenly. Red-skinned potatoes with waxy flesh hold their shape better than floury ones. Add the wine for the final stage before putting the dish in the oven; for an alcohol-free version, replace each 100 ml of wine with 80 ml of stock and 20 ml of grape juice. Serve with bread to mop up the sauce.