Veal Escalope with Marsala, Saute Potatoes and Green Salad

I had a busy week for half term which included two families coming to stay for a total of four days and another family coming over to supper on the eve of our departure for the weekend in London. I found myself in Waitrose the afternoon of the Friday that Family No.1 were arriving utterly devoid of inspiration as to what to cook over the coming days. Normally I have a reasonable idea - something I haven't cooked for a while, something inspired by a recipe, or an old favourite. But this day - nothing. Utterly blank mind. With just a few hours to go before I was due to be serving up that first Welcome Meal I simply couldn't think what to do. My decisions were not helped by the fact that I was not entirely clear what time everyone was arriving (wife and children were travelling up from London, husband was already up in Manchester for work and would be coming home with mine after an obligatory stop at the village pub), nor indeed, whether we were all eating together or whether children would eat earlier than us etc etc etc.

The one meal I had decided on was the duck breast favourite which I wrote about a few posts back. But hey, because I had got to the supermarket about six hours later than intended, they were, of course, all out of duck breasts. Well, they had two. So I put those into the trolley and stood there feeling frustrated and perplexed. Without knowing what meat you are cooking, how can you possibly choose the vegetables? I threw things in randomly - cabbage, salad, green beens, broccoli - and hoped that somehow a menu would suggest itself to me. I picked up chicken thighs and wings for a possible coq au vin - or lemon chicken with ratatouille; I got in extra minced meat for spag bol or shepherd's pie, and sausages and bacon and ham for our Sunday brunch before they headed back for London (the only other sure meal as this was what they had specifically suggested). I had a whole chicken to roast in my hand, as well as a huge piece of roasting beef - both of which ended up back on the shelf. Instead I spotted veal escalopes (very rare to find up here) and knew they would be a good option for a quick-to-assemble meal. Even if I didn't eat it with family No.1 it might do for Family No.2.

After all this indecision, I suddenly found myself up against it to get back to the bus stop in time to pick up the girls. I abandoned all other culinary plans and needs and unloaded my trolley as quickly as I could. The checkout girl asked me how I was so, as is my wont, I told her (never ask me how I am unless you really want to know - and never do so if you have a train to catch!). At the point at which I was expostulating about the lack of duck breast, she asked me if I had asked anyone if they 'had any more out back'. I replied, no, I had not. I never think of doing that. She called a supervisor who was pleased to confirm that, no, ,they had no more, BUT - had I seen the Duck Crown they had on special offer for £5? I had to admit that no, I had not. So she comes back clutching one and I add it to the teetering pile of muscle in my trolley. I could certainly cut two very generous breasts off that - and all for less than the ready-prepared duck breasts which I'd already paid for. Humph.

Where is all this going, you may be asking yourself? Fair point. Absolutely nowhere beyond the fact that we had cottage pie the first night, kids included, at about 10pm (dreadful traffic coming up from London, boys delayed in pub - so same old same old); we had the duck the following night and the brunch on Sunday with a pub lunch out on Saturday after a hearty hike up Crowden Clough. The chicken became coq au vin on the first night that our following guests stayed while with the veal became their last night finale and the one I have chosen to set out below. I love it for it's simplicity of preparation and simplicity of favours. It is, of course, Italian.

Ingredients for Veal Escalope with Marsala, saute potatoes and salad

4 Veal escalopes
Button mushrooms (about 200 -250g)
Single or double cream (tablespoon or two)
Marsala (about a good sized wine glass)
Garlic - 3 or 4 fat cloves, crushed
1 medium to large onion, sliced

unsalted butter

olive oil

lemon juice
salt and pepper

Extra fine asparagus tips (but ordinary size would do just as well)

Waxy potatoes

Green salad

The Saute Potatoes

The veal takes barely a few minutes to cook, so you start with the potatoes. Peel them, cut them into quarters and boil them in a a saucepan of salted water so they are cooked through but still firm. Drain them and rinse them in cold water and leave to cool. When you can handle them, slice them into about 4-5mm thick slices and lay them out evenly over the base of a saute pan where you have melted a knob of butter with a slug of olive oil (you will probably need two pans for this if you are doing enough for 4 people). Let them turn golden on one side before turning each slice over individually to brown on the other side (do not let them over cook as you will have something more akin to chips - not a disaster, but slightly less good with this dish). Have a serving dish warming so that as the potatoes reach perfection you can take them out of the pan but still keep them warm in the oven as you finish the rest of them off.

The Sauce

Ok, that's the most labour intensive bit of the meal. Now for the sauce. First, peel and slice the onion. Fry it gently in a saute pan or large frying pan with a little more butter and oil - you can use the ones you were doing the potatoes in to save washing up. While this is happening, take the mushrooms, clean them if necessary and then slice. Add them to the pan when the onions are soft and clear. Add a little more butter if necessary as the mushrooms absorb a lot. Let them cook for a minute or two before adding a good slug of marsala (about a wine glass full) and the juice of half a lemon. Let this reduce for a few minutes then add the veal escalopes having first seasoned them (I divided the meat and the sauce into two frying pans so they fitted easily). They will only need a couple of minutes on each side (depending on their thickness of course - mine were very thin). Turn them half way through cooking to do the other side. At this point you can add the cream (a couple of tablespoon fulls) and let it all bubble away until the meat is cooked, and add the juice of half a lemon towards the end of cooking.

Meanwhile, about half way through the cooking of the meat, I took the fine asparagus tips and put them in a non-stick dish in the oven havng sprinkled sea salt, olive oil and lemon juice on them. The idea is to roast them in the hot oven for a few minutes - if you don't have an Aga you can also do this on top of the hob.

When the meat was done I transferred it to a warm platter and kept it in the warming oven (or a warm oven if you don't have an Aga). Remember this is where the potatoes are too - in a different serving dish. When the sauce had thickened and reduced (add some arrowroot to quicken the process if necessary) I took the meat platter back out of the warming oven and poured the sauce over and around the meat. The final touch was laying the asparagus on top with some quarters of lemon around the edges.

I put out a bowl of rocket and spinach to follow the meal (or accompany - as you choose), before the cheese course. I left out good olive oil and balsamic vinegar for people to dress their own.

The wines we chose to accompany this were a white Gavi and a red Barbera d'Asti.

Buon appetito!