Blanquette de Veau

Blanquette de veau is veal simmered gently in stock with carrot and onion, bound at the end into a pale cream-and-egg-yolk sauce. It's a French classic that stays white from start to finish — the veal is never browned, which is exactly what the name (blanquette, from blanc) is pointing at.

What it actually is

Cubed veal, usually shoulder, is poached rather than seared, kept pale by never touching hot fat directly. It simmers gently with carrot, onion, a bouquet garni and a little white wine until tender, and the poaching liquid becomes the base of the sauce: thickened with a butter-and-flour roux, then finished off the heat with cream and egg yolk whisked in carefully so it doesn't scramble.

The result is a dish with almost no colour contrast on the plate — pale meat in a pale sauce — which is precisely the point rather than an oversight.

How it's served

• With rice or boiled potatoes, plain, to keep the whole plate as pale as the sauce.
• Sauce ladled generously over the veal, not on the side.
• With a few button mushrooms and pearl onions simmered in, if the kitchen makes the fuller version.

Writing it on a menu

• Flag gluten, dairy and egg; the roux, cream and yolk liaison carry all three.
• Note that the veal is never browned; guests expecting a seared cutlet should know this is a poached, pale dish by design.
• Say if you finish with mushrooms and pearl onions, since some kitchens keep the recipe plainer.
• Mention that the sauce is whisked off the heat with egg yolk; it is not a dish that reheats well at high heat, which affects how it should be held.