Veal Piccata with Lemon Caper Sauce

I love veal, because it is the easiest meat to cook and will be always tender unless you are really careless and overcook it. I know there are people who won't eat veal as a form of protest for the way the calves are raised, but I better not go there. This is a stress-free dish (adapted from www.washingtonpost.com/recipes) to make especially for a large group, because it only takes a couple of minutes to pan-fry the veal pieces, and the delicious sauce can be made ahead. Many cooks prefer to use Wondra flour for dusting meat and fish, as it results in even
browning and does not impart that pasty taste one gets from regular flour. I like to pan-fry the veal pieces in clarified butter, to give it more flavor (clarified butter will not burn when used in frying, compared to regular butter that's melted in a hot pan). As in the photo above, you can serve this with my Mascarpone Parmesan Gnocchi and Baked Asparagus-Carrot Parmesan (both recipes are on this blog site).

Ingredients:

1 large lemon, supremed (see note below) and segments chopped, with juices

2 tablespoons capers

1 tablespoon chopped thyme

1 cup low-sodium chicken broth

1/4 cup dry white vermouth

1/4 cup heavy cream

1 bay leaf

1/4 teaspoon salt, plus more as needed

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus more as needed

8 thin, 2-ounce slices veal top round

1 cup Wondra flour, for dusting

1/4 cup canola oil

1 tablespoon chilled unsalted butter, cut into pieces

Finely chopped chives or parsley, for garnish

Procedure:

Pre-heat oven to 200F. Line a baking sheet with several layers of paper towels.

In a small bowl, combine lemon segments and their juices with the capers and thyme.

In a small saucepan, combine the broth, vermouth, cream, bay leaf, salt and pepper; bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring, then reduce the heat to medium and cook for about 10 minutes or until reduced to 3/4 cup. Discard the bay leaf. Remove from the heat.

If your veal pieces are a bit thick, place the meat between pieces of plastic wrap and use a mallet to pound each one evenly into a 1/8-inch thick scalloppini. Discard plastic wrap. Season both sides of the veal slices lightly with salt and pepper.

Spread the flour on a large plate; coat the veal slices lightly with the flour. Discard the flour after use.

Heat the oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat until the oil shimmers. Carefully arrange half of the veal slices in the skillet; cook for 1 minute until golden brown, then turn them over and cook for 1 minute to brown on the second side. Transfer to the lined baking sheet and place in the warm oven while you repeat the process with the remaining veal.

Add the lemon segment mixture to the same skillet, cook for several seconds, and add the reduced broth mixture, scraping any browned bits in the skillet. Remove from heat and stir in the chilled butter pieces to form a velvety sauce. Taste and adjust the salt and pepper as needed.

When ready to serve, arrange two pieces of the veal on individual plates; ladle the sauce over each portion. Garnish with chopped chives or parsley, or both. Serve immediately. Serves 4.

Note:  To supreme a lemon (or orange or lime), slice off both the top and bottom of the fruit; stand the fruit on one end on a chopping board and, using a sharp knife, slice the peel off by running the knife from the top to the bottom. Remove any remaining white pith. Hold the fruit in one hand, cut the lemon segments away from the membrane, letting them fall into a bowl. Crush the remaining membrane in your hand to squeeze out the juice into the bowl. Chop the lemon segments into small pieces.