Veal Marengo

A recipe from cooking-ez.com

For 6 people, you will need:

• 1 1 kg veal
• 2 300 g button or field mushrooms
• 3 2 onions
• 4 4 tablespoons olive oil
• 5 150 g small pieces of smoked bacon
• 6 4 tablespoons olive oil
• 7 750 g peeled and chopped tomatoes
• 8 200 ml dry white wine
• 9 parsley
• 10 salt
• 11 pepper
• Total weight: 2,770 grams

Times:

Preparation	Cooking	Start to finish
35 min.	2 hours 25 min.	2 hours 55 min.

Step by step recipe

• 1: Cut 1 kg veal into large chunks.
  There's no need to use prime veal, a cheap cut will work very well.
  Set aside.
• 2: Prepare 300 g button or field mushrooms then slice them.
  Reserve
• 3: Prepare 2 onions and chop finely.
  Set aside.
• 4: Pour 4 tablespoons olive oil into a large pan on high heat. When good and hot, add the chunks of veal.
• 5: Fry until just starting to brown, then transfer to a plate and salt.
• 6: Immediately after, fry 150 g small pieces of smoked bacon until starting to brown.
  Transfer to the same plate.
• 7: Put the mushrooms into the pan...
• 8: ...and fry in the meat juices. No need to add any salt.
  Transfer to plate with the meat.
• 9: Pour 4 tablespoons olive oil to the pan. When hot, add the chopped onion, salt and pepper, and cook for 1 or 2 minutes while stirring.
• 10: Tip the meat and mushrooms back into the pan and mix well.
• 11: Add 750 g peeled and chopped tomatoes and 200 ml dry white wine, mix well and deglaze the pan, then turn the heat right down.
• 12: Put on the lid and leave to simmer for at least 2 hours.
• 13: About 5 minutes before serving, add a little chopped parsley and check the seasoning.
  Serve with rice or pasta, for example.

Remarks

Legend has it that the recipe was developed by Dunan, one of Napoleon's cooks, on the eve of the battle. Cut off from the usual supplies, he concocted the dish from what was available locally: chicken, tomatoes, wine and parsley.
We've come a long way from the original recipe. These days it tends to be a slow-cooked dish, similar to beef bourguignon, but with tomatoes dominating.
As with any slow-cooked recipe, it will keep and reheats very well, even a number of times. It also freezes well.

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