Wolfgang puck's braised veal with red wine sauce

1 Servings

Ingredients

QuantityIngredient
2cupsAssorted dried fruits; (prunes, apricots, figs)
1Bottle port; (about 3 1/2 cups)
4poundsVeal shank meat
½cupAll-purpose flour
Salt
Freshly ground white pepper
¼cupOlive oil
½cupBrunoise of onion
½cupBrunoise of carrot
½cupBrunoise of celery
1cupBlanched whole almonds
1Bottle dry red wine; (about 3 1/2 cups)
2cupsBeef stock; up to 4
1Recipe Couscous

Directions

I favor braising for the cuts of meat that usually take a longer time to cook. Braising keeps the meat moist and results in a delicious sauce without the use of cream or butter. This dish can be made the day before, cooled and reheated as needed.

1. In a small bowl, marinate the dried fruit, with enough port to cover, overnight.

2. Remove the meat from the veal shankbones. Dust the meat with flour. (The simplest way is to pour the flour into a bag and, one by one, place the meat in the bag, coat with the flour, and shake off the excess.) Season lightly with salt and pepper .

3. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

4. In a large ovenproof roasting pan, heat the olive oil. Brown the shanks on all sides. Do not crowd the pan, browning in batches if necessary. Add the vegetables, almonds, dried fruit and the marinating liquid. Pour in the remaining port and the red wine and bring to a boil. Turn the flame to medium and reduce the sauce by half. (The length of time required depends upon the size of the pan.)

5. Pour in enough beef stock to cover the shanks and bring to a boil. Cover the pan, transfer to the oven, and cook until the shanks are tender, 35 to 45 minutes. Remove the shanks and keep warm. Reduce the sauce just until it thickens. Correct seasoning to taste and return the shanks to the pan.

Serves 8.

Presentation: Mound the couscous in the center of each of 8 heated plates.

Top with one veal shank and spoon the ssauce over, including some almonds and fruit. Serve immediately. Have small forks on hand to scoop out the marrow from the bones.

To prepare ahead: Through step 5, reheating over a low flame when ready to serve. If the sauce thickens too much, thin with a little more stock.

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Busted by Barb on 2/20/98

Recipe by: Adventures in the Kitchen Posted to MC-Recipe Digest by "abprice@..." <abprice@...> on Mar 22, 1998