Veal cheeks in rosemary-balsamic jus, truffled celeriac puree and red wine shallots

Ingredients for 5 servings:

• 1 kg veal cheeks
• 1 tbsp clarified butter
• 2 carrots
• 400 g celeriac, approx.
• 1 small parsley root(s)
• 1 small onion(s)
• 3 sprigs of parsley
• 8 rosemary sprigs
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 tbsp tomato paste
• 2 dashes soy sauce
• 5 cl cognac
• 4 cl balsamic vinegar of Modena, at least 10 years old
• 50 g butter, ice-cold, in small pieces
• 1 tbsp tomato ketchup
• Sea salt and pepper, black from the mill
• 500 ml veal stock, dark, homemade
• 500 ml dry red wine (Dornfelder or Monastrell)
• 600 g celeriac
• 250 g butter, soft
• 1 jar truffle butter, approx. 100 g
• 20 shallots
• 1 tbsp powdered sugar
• 500 ml red wine
• 500 ml currant juice
• 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
• oil
• Salt

Instructions

Working time approx. 2 hours; Cooking/baking time approx. 5 hours; Total time approx. 7 hours

from the show “The Perfect Dinner” on VOX from 24.06.2020

For the veal cheeks: Preheat the oven to 100°C. Place a deep plate inside. Trim the cheeks, taking care not to cut out the thick inner tendons! These will dissolve during cooking. Freeze the trimmings to save for the next time you make stock. Pat the meat clean and dry and season with salt and pepper on both sides. Tie it into balls with kitchen string. Brown them all over in hot clarified butter. While the meat is cooking, clean the vegetables and peel only the celery, then chop everything into large pieces. Leave the onion unpeeled! Remove the meat and keep it warm in the oven on a preheated plate, covered with aluminum foil. Brown the vegetables and parsley in the pan juices until lightly browned. Return the veal cheeks to the pan. Deglaze with the soy sauce and 3 cl of cognac. Briefly return the heat to high until the resulting stock has almost completely reduced. Preheat the oven to 120°C. Pour red wine and veal stock over the veal cheeks. Add 2 sprigs of rosemary and the bay leaf. Place the uncovered casserole dish on the floor of the oven. Braise for 3.5 hours, adjusting the heat so that it bubbles gently every 2 minutes. If the liquid is reducing too quickly, add a little more wine if necessary. The meat will also cook well with less heat and more time, but the oven temperature should not fall below 100°C. Remove the veal cheeks from the stock, cover, and keep warm in the oven. Strain the stock through a fine sieve into a saucepan, leveling off well. Add the remaining rosemary and slowly reduce by half over medium heat, leaving about 400 ml. For the balsamic sauce: In a small non-stick saucepan, brown the tomato paste with the ketchup, then deglaze with the remaining cognac and balsamic vinegar. Reduce until only a very thick syrup remains. Add this to the sauce. Season the sauce with pepper and salt and pour it through a fine sieve again. If you don’t have any old balsamic vinegar on hand, omit the stock altogether. Do not replace the balsamic vinegar with a cheaper version, or the sauce will taste sour! Whisk the pieces of butter into the hot, but not boiling, sauce; this will thicken it and give it an irresistible shine. If the sauce is too runny, thicken it with a little arrowroot flour. Do not use cornstarch, as this will make the sauce dull and slimy! Otherwise, leave it a little more runny! Remove the string from the veal cheeks and, in slices, return them to the sauce, and let it macerate. For the truffled celeriac purée: Peel and trim the celery, then cut it into 2 cm cubes. Place it in a saucepan with a little salt and cover halfway with water. Cover and bring to a boil over medium heat for 20 minutes. Drain the celery, allow it to evaporate slightly, and press the water out with a kitchen towel. Return the celery to the pot, add the butter and truffle butter, and blend with a hand blender. Season with salt and pepper. For the red wine shallots: Sauté the shallots in a little oil with the powdered sugar. Season with salt and simmer vigorously with the currant juice, red wine, and balsamic vinegar until a jelly-like sauce forms. This takes about 20-25 minutes. Carsten prepared this recipe as a main course on Wednesday, June 24, 2020, in the show “The Perfect Dinner” – Day 3 in the Nahe region.