Saddle of Veal à la Rossini

About the dish

One of several festive variations on roast saddle of veal in Erken's meat chapter. The recipe builds on the base recipe «Saddle of veal with macaroni» (page 201) and is named after the composer Rossini, with the classic Rossini markers of truffle and foie gras.

How to make it

1. 1

   Lard the meat

   Pierce holes in the saddle of veal with a pointed knife and lard it with about 50 g of truffle cut into strips.

2. 2

   Season and cover

   Rub the meat with salt and pepper and cover it with thin slices of pork fat.

3. 3

   Brown and roast

   Brown the meat in 50 g butter together with the onion and carrot, and continue roasting it as for saddle of veal with macaroni: in a moderately hot oven, basting constantly with meat stock and pan juices.

4. 4

   Carve out the fillets

   Carve the fillets out of the saddle, cut them into slices and lay the slices back on the backbone.

5. 5

   Glaze the meat

   Pour a little of the meat's own juices over it and return it to the oven so the sauce dries in. Repeat 6–8 times until the meat is shiny and glazed.

6. 6

   Braised macaroni

   Boil the macaroni, cut it into 1 cm pieces and mix with 40 g butter, the grated cheese, the rest of the truffles in strips and the foie gras in fairly large dice.

7. 7

   Plating

   Arrange small mounds of the braised macaroni around the saddle, alternating with stuffed tomato cups surrounded by small salad leaves. Serve the pan juices separately.