Veal Medallions & Choc Orange Meringue Gateau

Main: Veal Medallions with Mustard & Prosciutto. $$$
WW Dinner Party Cookbook No.3

Dessert: Chocolate Orange Meringue Gateau $
WW Dinner Party Cookbook No.3

Hello everyone,

Hope you have had a sensational week! I certainly have because I have been able to spend time with my son and his wife who live in Florida. They have really enjoyed the Wine Wednesday experience and my daughter-in-law hovered around asking questions and enjoying the build up to the meal as much as I do.

You will notice that I have put “$” next to each of the courses. I am going to do this from now on as it gives you an idea of cost in moving forward with the particular meal. Yes, the veal is expensive in itself (please, please do go to a really good butcher for this) but you also use prosciutto which ups the cost as well. However, let me say this, it is well worth the effort and the outlay. I was not able to get the small eye fillets so there was a bit of fiddling with the spinach and prosciutto as I was dealing with a larger area but it all still worked beautifully. What is nice with this recipe is that it can be prepped in the morning and then just placed in the oven after browning. Please have all the ingredients for the sauce ready as you need to work quickly while the meat is resting. This sauce/gravy is really delicious and I went a bit mad with it on the plates but next time, for the purposes of aesthetics just drizzle a little on the plate and serve the rest in a jug. Would you believe the spinach was hard to find – the drought apparently. I did actually find some but while I was searching I discovered a form of kale that looks very like spinach – a bigger leaf than the normal kale and that could have worked also. Anyway getting back to the assembly. Mixing the mustard coating is easy.

Steaming the spinach is easy but when it comes to drying the spinach and laying it out, it starts to get a bit fiddly so have patience and work slowly. The colours in this recipe are inviting in themselves and the smell of the mustard mixture makes you want to lick it off the spoon.

I made this ahead of time and then browned it just before placing in the oven. When you are browning the meat just do so until the prosciutto is starting to crisp, any longer and it will fall off the meat. Slice a piece, about an inch thick for everyone and lay it on a swish of gravy. YUM! The sweet potato mash I served with it had cumin, mixed spice & cream. It was heaven – add a simple salad and you’ve got it covered. This received 10/10 (Hey, doing very well lately aren’t I!)

Now for dessert. I really enjoyed making this three part dessert. The chocolate (no flour) cake can be made the day before as can the meringue (yes, I know meringue again but I love it). Then work with the orange filling during the “day of” and assemble and refrigerate two hours before needed. All went well until the meringue spread too much and my cake looked a lot like a mushroom. I did draw a circle considerably smaller than the cake and carefully placed my meringue mixture within the boundaries but it got out of control.

Also it I would have preferred a softer meringue. So – next time (and there’s always a next time) I am going to try spreading the meringue on top of the orange filling (more last minute) and using the blowtorch, just brown the top. What do you think? Could work, so I’ll give it a try. I gave this a 5 but the average from everyone else was 7/10.

The veal is an absolute must if you want to impress someone important. (Actually, in the Women’s Weekly Dinner Party Cookbook, they call this menu “Dining with the boss”) – Ooolahla ladies & gents you now know how to impress.

Until next week….

From my table to yours with love x

Veal Medallions with Mustard & Prosciutto

8 spinach (silverbeet) leaves
1 tbsp dijon mustard
1 tbsp french mustard
1 tbsp seeded mustard
2 tsp grated lemon rind
1 tbsp chopped fresh dill
4 300g veal fillets (or two large ones)
40 slices (approx 400g) prosciutto
1½ tbsp olive oil
3 cloves garlic (crushed)
¾ c dry sherry
1½ tbsp dijon mustard extra
2 c beef stock
2 tsp cornflour
1½ tbsp water
2 tbsp chopped dill extra

Boil, steam or microwave spinach until just wilted, rinse in cold water; drain, pat dry. Place quarter of the spinach slightly overlapping to form a rectangle the same length as a piece of veal. Spread quarter of the combined mustards, rind and dill onto a piece of veal, place veal onto spinach, roll up like a Swiss roll.
Place quarter of the prosciutto on board, slightly overlapping in 2 rows to form a rectangle. Place rolled veal onto prosciutto, roll up like a Swiss roll. Repeat process with remaining veal, mustard mixture, spinach and prosciutto.
Heat oil in baking dish, add rolls, cook, turning occasionally, until prosciutto is lightly browned. Bake, uncovered, in very hot oven about 15 minutes or until veal is cooked to your liking. Remove rolls from baking dish; keep warm.
Place baking dish over heat, add garlic and sherry, boil 2 minutes. Add extra mustard, stock and blended cornflour and water; stir over heat until sauce boils and thickens. Strain sauce, stir in extra dill.
Slice veal thickly, serve with sauce.

Chocolate Orange Meringue Gateau

100 g dark chocolate (melted)
100 g unsalted butter (melted)
1 tbsp Grand Marnier
2 tbsp water
⅔ c castor sugar
⅔ c packaged ground almonds
3 eggs (separated)

Orange Cream

6 egg yolks
2 tsp grated orange rind
½ c castor sugar
½ c orange juice
2 tsp gelatine
1 tbsp water
⅔ c thickened cream

Meringue

3 egg whites
¾ c castor sugar
3 tsp cornflour
1 tsp lemon juice

The Chocolate Cake

Grease deep 20cm round cake pan, cover base with paper, grease paper. Combine chocolate, butter, liqueur, water, sugar and nuts in large bowl; stir in egg yolks. Beat egg whites in small bowl until soft peaks form, fold into chocolate mixture, pour mixture into prepared pan. Bake in moderate oven about 45 minutes or until cake is firm; cool in pan.
Carefully turn cake from pan, place cake onto serving plate. Spread top with orange cream, top with meringue layer; refrigerate 2 hours before serving.

Orange Cream

Beat egg yolks, rind and sugar in small bowl with electric mixer until thick and creamy. Gradually beat in juice. Transfer mixture to pan, stir over low heat, without boiling, for about 20 minutes or until mixture thickens. Remove from heat. Sprinkle gelatine over water in cup, stand in small pan of simmering water, stir until gelatine is dissolved, stir into warm orange mixture. Beat cream until soft peaks form, then fold cream into orange mixture; cool.

Meringue

Cover oven tray with foil, grease foil, dust with a little plain flour, shake away excess flour. Mark a 17cm diameter circle on foil. Beat egg whites, sugar, cornflour and juice in small bowl with electric mixer for about 10 minutes or until sugar is dissolved. Spread mixture over circle. Bake in very slow oven for about 1 1/2 hours or until meringue is dry and firm to touch. Cool meringue in oven with door ajar.

Veal Medallions & Choc Orange Meringue Gateau