Veal Francese
I drew a complete blank in my search for Veal Francese and mentioned this in Cosa Bolle in Pentola, the Italian Cuisine Newsletter. Kay Noble very kindly sent the below:
"I thought you might appreciate this information on Chicken Francese and Veal Francese, a dish that I remember enjoying at upscale NYC Italian restaurants during the late 50s and early 60s.
"David Rosengarten, restaurant critic for Gourmet and author of the Dean & Deluca Cookbook, hosts a TV cooking show called Taste on the Food TV Network in the States. For one of the shows he did in 1997, which repeats from time to time, he did an extensive search among Italian and American cookbooks for Veal Francese (and Chicken Francese), dishes that became popular at Italian restaurants in the States in the 1950s. However, he found no recipes. On the program, he surmised the dishes were an Italian restaurateur's response to the popularity of all things French after WWII, a popularity derived from the decision of the French chefs who had come in 1939 to create the restaurant at the French Pavilion of the NYC Worlds Fair and got stuck here for the War's duration to open Le Pavilion, which became NYC's premier (French) postwar restaurant. Previously, most Italian restaurants in New York City had served "red sauce" with dishes. The new butter and wine sauce was lighter and fresher and thus dubbed "francese." (I also remember a finishing dusting of chopped parsley.)"
David gave the following recipe for Veal Francese as he remembers eating it in the late 50s and created the recipe for Chicken Francese, more popular in the anti-veal pro-chicken US of today. Today, huge veal chops are the popular menu item in the US, but I still prefer veal scaloppini, though I must say that I have added Chicken Francese, made with a mild pecorino (some of what is called pecorino romano in the States is, as Faith Willinger has said, so strong as to be inedible) to my repertoire and had many requests for the recipe."
Taste With David Rosengarten Show #TS4914
- 1/2 pound veal scallops from leg
- Salt and pepper
- 1 egg, beaten well
- Flour for dredging
- 6 tablespoons butter
- 1 cup dry white wine
Place veal pieces between 2 sheets of waxed paper and pound with a mallet until they're thin. Season with salt and pepper.
Place the beaten egg in a wide, shallow bowl. Place the flour on a wide plate.
Dip the pounded veal in the egg. Remove, letting the excess egg drip back into the bowl.
Place each scallop in the flour, and coat lightly. Remove the scallops from the flour, and hold them in a single layer.
Add 4 tablespoons of the butter to a sauté pan large enough to hold the 6 scallops in a single layer. Melt the butter over medium-high heat.
When it foams, add the veal. Sauté, turning once, until the scallops are golden on the outside. Remove the scallops and hold in a single layer. Spill the butter out of the sauté pan into a bowl, and return the pan to high heat. Add the white wine and reduce it to 1/2 cup. Turn heat to very low. Swirl in the butter until the sauce is thickened.
Add the reserved veal cutlets to the pan, turning them until they are coated with the sauce.
Divide scallops among 2 plates, pour remaining sauce over them, serve immediately.
Yield: 2 servings
