Veal fillet with onion confit and spinach salad

Ingredients for 4 servings:

• 600 g veal fillet(s), trimmed, in one piece
• 100 g pesto, red, very good quality
• 12 slice(s) bacon (pancetta) or bacon
• 300 g onion(s), cut into 0.5 cm wide strips
• 100 ml balsamic vinegar
• 50 ml red wine, semi-dry
• 100 ml veal stock
• 2 carnations
• 2 juniper berries
• 2 bay leaves
• 4 tbsp brown sugar
• 1 chili pepper(s), finely chopped
• 2 tbsp tomato paste
• 1 clove(s) garlic, finely chopped
• 50 g butter
• 250 g spinach (baby spinach), washed, sorted
• 100 g arugula, washed
• 12 tbsp olive oil
• 3 tbsp red wine vinegar, very good quality
• 2 tbsp crème fraîche or crème double
• ½ tsp sugar
• some salt (fleur de sel)
• some pepper

Instructions

Working time approx. 50 minutes; Cooking/baking time approx. 40 minutes; Total time approx. 1 hour 30 minutes

Preheat the oven to 100°C. Sauté the onions in 30g butter and a little olive oil for 5 minutes over medium heat. Add the sugar, garlic, and chili, increase the heat, and let the onions caramelize slightly. Add a little more butter, reduce the heat to low to medium, and simmer with the lid halfway on for about 20 minutes, until the onions are dark and sweet. Increase the heat, add the tomato paste, and sauté for 1 minute. Add the spices and deglaze with the red wine and balsamic vinegar. Cook for 5 minutes. Add the stock and reduce until thickened, then season to taste and let cool. Meanwhile, season the fillet with pepper and marinate it with the pesto. Wrap it in pancetta and sear it in a little olive oil, about 2 minutes per side. Then cook in the oven for about 25-30 minutes. For the dressing, dissolve the sugar in the vinegar. Stir in the crème fraîche and olive oil and season to taste. Remove the fillet from the oven and let it rest for 10 minutes. Cut into 2 cm thick slices. Add the juices to the confit. Sprinkle the cut surfaces with fleur de sel. Arrange 2 slices on top of each other in the center of a plate. Use 2 tablespoons to scoop out gnocchi from the room-temperature confit and place them on the meat. Mix the lettuce and toss with the dressing, then arrange a generous handful on the meat. Serve with bread, mashed potatoes, or Macaire potatoes. This dish can be served hot or cold, making it ideal as a starter or main course.