Grilled Veal Chops

There are some things that my wife and I love to eat but rarely get to enjoy( unless we dine out and that’s not often) because my daughter does not like them and I’m not certain about my grandson. Things like Veal, Lamb, Chili and Sausage—- so when we recently found ourselves in the house alone for the weekend it was time for date night and that meant cooking something we have not had in quite some time…… in this case it was Veal.

Now part of the problem with cooking something like Veal is finding the right side dish to go with it. I mean it’s not like you can cook a perfect piece of veal and then slap a bunch of boxed macaroni and cheese down beside it and call it complete….. well I guess you could but I don’t see that as being very appetizing. What I decided to to do as my sides was steamed Asparagus on top of combined mashed potato celery root puree and frankly it worked quite well.

Here’s how we do this one.

Shopping List:

• Two Veal shoulder chops
• One medium Celery Root– peeled and rough chopped
• Three Cipollini onions or one small yellow onion– peeled and rough chopped
• Four to five large yellow flesh potatoes
• One bunch Asparagus– trimmed of woody end
• Two garlic cloves – peeled and smashed
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 3 tablespoons butter
• Canola oil
• Salt and pepper

Putting it all together:

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees
2. Put approximately two inches of water in a large pot
3. Place the celery root,garlic and onions in a steamer basket and place over the pot of water and steam for 10 minutes
4. In a separate pot cook the potatoes until just fork tender
5. While the potatoes and celery mix are cooking grease your grill pan (see Kitchen gadgets) or add Canola oil to a large fry pan
6. Season the Veal chops with salt and pepper and sear on both sides– about 4 minutes
7. Pop the chops in the oven for approximately 15-20 minutes or until the internal temperature reaches 164 degrees
8. Put the Celery root mix in the bowl of a food processor along with 1 ladle of the steamer water and the butter
9. Puree the mix for about three minutes
10. While the food processor is running pour in the heavy cream and puree until blended
11. Mash the potatoes and add enough of the puree to get the consistency you would like- the puree acts like the butter and milk you would normally use
12. In another pot with a steamer insert steam the Asparagus for about 7 minutes or until tender
13. Plate the Veal and potatoes and top the potatoes with the asparagus.
14. Enjoy

There you have it another “simple but tasty recipe for the grilling season and beyond.”

Until next time………

                 Bon Appetit