Blanquette de Veau — French Creamy Veal Stew
One of the great classics of French home cooking: tender veal gently poached (never browned) with aromatic vegetables, then served in a velvety white sauce enriched with cream and egg yolk and brightened with lemon, studded with button mushrooms and glazed pearl onions. Blanquette de veau is elegant, comforting and pale-gold — the whole art is keeping it white by poaching rather than searing, and finishing with a silky liaison. Pure French Sunday-lunch soul food.
Put veal (shoulder or breast) in cold water, bring to a simmer and skim well, then poach gently — do not brown it — with onion studded with cloves, carrot, leek and a bouquet garni until tender. Strain, keeping the broth. Make a white roux with butter and flour, whisk in the veal broth to make a smooth velouté, and add the meat with sautéed button mushrooms and glazed pearl onions. Off the heat, finish with a liaison of cream and egg yolk (don't let it boil) and a squeeze of lemon. Serve over rice.
- Keep it white: poach the veal gently and never brown it — that pale colour is the dish's signature.
- Build a velouté from the cooking broth, then enrich it off the heat with a cream-and-egg-yolk liaison.
- Don't boil after adding the liaison (it would curdle); finish with lemon for brightness.
Equipment
- Large pot
- Saucepan (for sauce)
- Frying pan
Malzemeler
Veal & poaching
- 1 kg veal shoulder/breast, in chunks
- 1 onion studded with cloves; 1 carrot; 1 leek; bouquet garni; salt
Velouté & garnish
- 50 g butter
- 50 g flour
- 250 g button mushrooms, sautéed
- 200 g pearl onions, glazed
Liaison
- 150 ml cream
- 2 egg yolks
- Juice of ½ lemon
Yapılışı
- ADIM01
Put the veal in a pot, cover with cold water, bring to a simmer and skim off the foam thoroughly (this keeps it clean and white). Add the clove-studded onion, carrot, leek, bouquet garni and salt, and poach very gently — do NOT brown it — until the veal is tender, about 1.5 hours. Strain, keeping the broth and meat.
- ADIM02
Melt the butter, stir in the flour and cook 1–2 minutes without colouring (a white roux). Whisk in the strained veal broth gradually to make a smooth, velvety sauce; simmer to thicken lightly.
- ADIM03
Sauté the button mushrooms (without colouring much) and glaze the pearl onions in a little butter and water until tender and shiny.
- ADIM04
Add the veal, mushrooms and pearl onions to the velouté and warm through gently.
- ADIM05
Whisk the cream with the egg yolks and a little hot sauce to temper, then stir back into the pot off the boil — do not let it boil, or it will curdle. Add a squeeze of lemon, check the seasoning, and serve over rice (or with potatoes).
Make ahead
Poach the veal and make the velouté ahead — they reheat well. Add the cream-and-egg liaison only at the end, just before serving, and warm it gently without boiling, as that's what could split on reheating. Making the base a day ahead actually deepens the flavour; just finish with the liaison and lemon to serve.
Storage
Keeps 3 days refrigerated; reheat very gently without boiling so the egg-and-cream sauce doesn't split. The flavour deepens overnight. It's best not frozen once the liaison is in (the sauce can separate), but the poached veal and broth freeze well — finish the sauce fresh. Serve with freshly cooked rice.
Variations
Blanquette de volaille
Use chicken instead of veal for a quicker, cheaper version.
Old-fashioned (à l'ancienne)
The classic with mushrooms and pearl onions (this version) — 'à l'ancienne'.
With other meats
Lamb or pork can be used for a blanquette-style white stew.
Serve with
Nutrition per serving
Nutrition values are estimates based on the metric measurements. Adjust as needed.
Sık sorulanlar
Why is blanquette de veau white?
The defining feature of a blanquette is that the meat is never browned — it's gently poached in water/broth rather than seared, keeping both the veal and the sauce pale. The sauce is a white velouté (white roux plus the cooking broth) enriched with cream and egg yolk, not a brown gravy. Skimming well during poaching keeps it clean and light-coloured. 'Blanquette' comes from 'blanc' (white).
What is a liaison and why not boil it?
A liaison is a mixture of egg yolks and cream whisked together and stirred into the sauce at the end to enrich and thicken it into a silky, glossy finish. Crucially, you must not let the sauce boil after adding it — the egg yolks will scramble and the sauce will curdle. Temper the liaison with a little hot sauce first, stir it in off the boil, and warm gently.
What cut of veal should I use?
Veal shoulder, breast or other gelatinous cuts suited to slow, gentle cooking — they turn meltingly tender in the poaching liquid and give a rich broth. Avoid lean cuts like escalope, which would dry out. Cut it into even chunks. If veal is hard to find or pricey, chicken makes an excellent blanquette de volaille with the same method.
Can I use chicken instead of veal?
Yes — blanquette de volaille (with chicken) is a popular, quicker and more economical version using exactly the same technique: poach the chicken gently without browning, make a velouté from the broth, add mushrooms and pearl onions, and finish with the cream-and-egg liaison and lemon. It's a great way to enjoy the dish if veal isn't available.
What do you serve with blanquette de veau?
Classically, plain steamed white rice, which soaks up the velvety sauce beautifully. Buttered noodles (tagliatelle), boiled or steamed potatoes also work well. A simple green salad on the side balances the richness. It's a comforting, elegant main that needs only a plain starch to let the creamy veal and sauce shine.
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