Veal Roasted on a Bed of Herbs with a Blanket of Lemon and Cream

Ingredients

• 5 kg/ 3 lbs 4 oz sirloin of veal – buy the best and get your butcher to roll and truss with string. Specify British pink veal
• 2 sprigs rosemary
• A few sage leaves
• 25g/1 oz/small bunch of flat-leaved parsley
• 4 sprigs of thyme
• Some celery leaves
• 1 fat clove of garlic, crushed with 1 tsp smoked salt
• Generous grinds of Indonesian long pepper and more smoked salt
• Two large lemons
• 100g/3 oz/two-fifths of a brick of butter
• 300 ml/½ pint/1¼ cups double cream

Instructions

1. Season the veal (massaging the salt and pepper all over it), and put it in a smallish bowl just begin enough for it. Zest one lemon, and squeeze the juice over the veal, cover with cling film and leave to marinate for a couple of hours. Save the zest.
2. Preheat the oven to 150°C (use the aga simmering oven) and take the cream out of the fridge.
3. Warm your plates as well as an oval serving platter
4. Chop the herbs and the celery leaves and put in an oval hob and oven proof casserole with a lid which is just big enough to hold the joint. Add the butter and garlic and fry gently for two or three minutes.
5. Add the veal to the casserole and brown lightly on all surfaces.
6. Zest the second lemon, then, using a serrated tomato knife, peel the lemon to cut off all the skin and pith. Cut thinly.
7. Take the veal out and put the thin slices to lemon onto the bed of herbs at the bottom of the casserole. Put the joint back on top.
8. Pour the cream over, put the lid on – but slightly to the side so that some of the juices can evaporate, and cook in the oven for about two hours. The juices should look thick and rich – if they don’t take the veal out and put it on a carving board, cover with foil. Put the casserole on the hob on a higher heat and reduce.
9. Slice the veal thinly, arrange on the serving platter and spoon over the gooey, creamy sauce.