Piccatina Di Vitello Al Limone

Clare

12 years ago

There are certain dishes which are just SO simple and easy…and quick, that you really wonder why people bother with ready meals at all.

This is one of those dishes. The potatoes and vegetables are really up to you – but I’ve suggested two which also take just minutes in terms of preparation – you don’t have to peel the potatoes, but obviously they are going to take twenty minutes boiling time – time for a bath or a good stiff drink!

So this really is SUPER-quick (leaving aside the potatoes, about ten minutes, honest), and a delicious, supper.

This is particularly good with crushed lemony potatoes and roast asparagus (leave out the lemon in the roast asparagus). Alternatively, you could use (as I have in the image) purple carrots, which I cut into thin lengths (2″/5 cm or so), boil in salted water for about five minutes,drain, and using the same saucepan, then fry gently in butter and blood orange juice for a couple of minutes. Serve with the sauce as described below.

Recipe for Piccatina Di Vitello Al Limone

for four

You can sprinkle with the seasoned flour while the meat is still on the paper the butcher wrapped it in (if you went to the butcher) – saves washing up!

4 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp flour
½ cup/120 ml/8 tbsp rosato vermouth (pink Martini) – warmed
1 heaped tsp (or one cube) stock powder
500g (about 1 lb) of thinly sliced veal (get the butcher to cut off any grisly bits, and get him to hammer it really thin)
juice and zest of a lemon
generous handful of parsley – chopped
Indonesian black pepper and salt (be careful – there’s quite a bit of salt in the stock powder)
3 tbsp of Greek yoghurt and 3 tbsp of mayonnaise – stirred together and kept warm. This is a sauce for the vegetables (it is also good with broccoli and carrots if asparagus is out of season)
vegetables of your choice – 500g/1 lb asparagus, or 400g/14 oz carrots

sieve the flour over the veal and season with the salt and pepper. If it’s come in paper, season over the paper, it saves washing up!
dissolve the stock powder (or cube) in the warmed martini.
heat the oil in a big frying pan
add the veal to the pan, fry on one side for a couple of minutes
turn over and add the vermouth-stock and lemon juice and zest
serve with the crushed lemony potatoes and the roasted asparagus, and pour the mayonnaise/yoghurt sauce over the vegetables