Veal with mushrooms, calvados and sour cream

I find this kind of dish quite rich for a midweek meal, but it is lovely from time to time. The sauce works well with pork, too.

Some dishes wouldn't be the same without the complex flavours of booze, like this dish of veal with mushrooms, in a sauce of calvados or brandy. Credit: Alan Benson

• serves

  4

• prep

  5 minutes

• cook

  15 minutes

• difficulty

  Easy

Ingredients

• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 12 small veal escalopes
• 40 g butter
• 1 small red onion, finely chopped
• 300 g button mushrooms, thinly sliced
• 15 sage leaves
• 30 ml Calvados (see Note) or brandy
• 100 g sour cream
• 60 ml (¼ cup) pouring cream
• steamed vegetables, to serve

Instructions

Heat the olive oil in a heavy-based frying pan over high heat. Season the veal with salt and pepper. Working in 2 batches, cook the veal on one side for 3 minutes or until golden brown, then turn over and just warm through on the other side (otherwise it may overcook). Remove from the pan and set aside.

Reduce heat to medium, add the butter and onion to the pan and cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Add the mushrooms and cook for 3 minutes or until softened. Season with salt and pepper and toss in the sage. Pour in the Calvados and boil for 1 minute or until the pan is nearly dry. Add the creams, bring to a simmer, then return the veal and any juices to the pan and just warm through. Spoon veal and sauce onto a serving platter and serve with steamed vegetables.

Note
• Calvados is a dry apple brandy made in Calvados in the Normandy region of northern France. It is available from select bottle shops.

Photography Alan Benson

As seen in Feast magazine, November 2013, Issue 26. 

Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.