VEAL PICCATA AL LIMONE: FOOD FOR LOVE

To date I have only posted recipes that require very little skill.
This dish is no different, but timing is vital, as everything has to be finished at almost the same time.

This elegant dish is best reserved for when you want to treat that someone special in your life to a really romantic treat!
You will be required to multi-task, but remember, it’s a labor of love.
Read More……..

INGREDIENTS
500g veal steaks or cutlets
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 cup chicken broth
2 tablespoons capers
1 tablespoon freshly-squeezed lemon juice
1 tablespoon chopped Italian parsley
Salt and Freshly ground black pepper

Fresh Asparagus

Fettucine. Please please get the real deal. No Fattis & Monis today. Be a devil, break that twenty rand and splash.

METHOD
The key is to prep everything before you start cooking.
Pound the veal with a mallet - about 50mm thick – and add salt and pepper to taste..
Spread the flour on a plate.
Clean the asparagus.
Squeeze the lemon.
Open the can of capers.
Chop the parsley.
Make the chicken broth. Ok, dissolve the cube in hot water.

When everything is ready, place water in a pot to boil for the pasta.
At the same time start boiling water in a separate pot or steamer for the asparagus, and heat the pan for the veal.

When you are absolutely ready to start cooking - about 20 minutes before the meal will be served – melt 1 tablespoon of the butter with the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat.

At this stage, the water for the pasta should be boiling. Add pasta and cook for 8 minutes.

Dredge the veal in the flour, shake off excess and immediately transfer to the pan and brown on both sides. About one and a half minutes a side.

Transfer the cutlets to a plate. Keep warm in a warming oven or an oven set to the lowest heat.

Now place the asparagus in the steamer, or a colander over the water boiling in the pot.

Pour the chicken broth into the pan to deglaze it. Scrape the bottom of the pan to dissolve the fond, and cook over high heat until the liquid is slightly thickened.
Stir in the capers, lemon juice, and parsley.
If needed, sprinkle a very small amount of flour to thicken the sauce.

Your 8 minutes for the pasta was probably up while you were busy with the broth, so strain the pasta with one hand, while removing from the steamer and plating the asparagus with the other, and keep stirring the broth with a wooden spoon clenched between your teeth.

Remove the sauce from the heat and swirl in the remaining tablespoon of butter.

Plate the veal on a bed of fettucine, pour the sauce over the meat, garnish creatively with asparagus around the plate and serve immediately, with garlic bread and a green salad on the side.

Only then can you have a sip of the red wine you poured when you started.
You deserve it.