This week’s French Fridays with Dorie challenge is for Veal Marengo.  Having grown up in Italy, I’m not averse to eating veal.  But, it’s not easy to come by in our area because California is, afterall, the state that attempted to ban Foie Gras because it’s cruel to fatten geese.  I didn’t think far enough ahead to special order it, so I decided lamb would be a good substitute.  But, the Susanizing didn’t stop there.  John and I can’t understand the French propensity to cook vegetables separately when they are so delicious stewed in the sauce with the meat.  Oh, and did I mention that we wash all our own dishes, so one pot is better than four?  While our version may not be genuinely Provençal, it was genuinely delicious.  Because we added the vegetables with the meat, we had to bake our stew for one hour instead of 30 minutes.  But, it was so delicious.  So delicious, in fact, that this is going to become my go-to method for making beef stew – with the addition of carrots and green peas stirred in just before serving.
This thick, flavorful sauce surrounds the meat and vegetables and imbues rich flavor into them. Â How could you not want your potatoes to taste this good? Â I suppose it’s an American thing to throw everything into one pot dating back to pioneer campfire days but, it works for us! Â This stew was really good with lamb but I’m looking forward to trying it with beef, too.
Bon Appetit!
Oh good, I am gonna make it again, with lamb! Beef was good too! And will give your ‘one pot’ method a go as well!
ps: a handsome devil of a cat in the last picture
pps: love your new blog look
Oh, yeah, I should have followed your lead and cooked the veggies in the stew. A much easier way to get the same yummy results!
P.S. I always love your bonus photos! Mr. Tom is so handsome!
I’m glad to hear that it worked all stewed together in one pot. I saw the directions to cook each thing separately, and thought, “Errr, sounds like a lot of cleanup.” I like your way better. 🙂
Awww, Tom.
In this case, I liked the vegetables separately – especially the onions cooked in the butter; but I am totally on board with less dishes to clean up!
Have a great weekend!
Great idea re the veggies, Susan! And a lovely sub for the veal, too! It all looks beautiful and that includes the kitty. 🙂 Enjoy the warm weather this weekend!
Lamb sounds like a great substitute, still a very Spring meat. Is it really a French thing to cook the veggie’s seperately or a Dorie thing? I haven’t seen it much in other French recipes… interesting question. I find the French seem to be the only ones to make bouquet garni, other than in a consommé I find to be a strange waste of herbs. Well, I’m with you on cooking everything together, nothing better than meat flavored by veggies and vice versa.
My little stove was really struggling to keep up with all the pots-n-pans called for in this recipe. Smart move to turn it into a one pot meal.
Looks great, Susan, and I agree with you about the veggies, except the potatoes. I do not cook them in any stew type recipe because for some reason it absorbs the liquid/sauce,
etc. Must be an “Italian thing” with me where the pasta absorbs the sauce. Whatever????
Anyway, this was delicious and definitely a repeat. Cannot believe we are almost to the end of this journey, I am researching all the missed recipes for Patty and myself, OMG,
do we have a project ahead for the next few weekends. Hopefully we will make it. Have a great weekend.
I love that you substituted lamb. Brilliant choice! (I would probably have gone the easy route and used chicken thighs..)
Do I know that kitty-kat? HIs eyes are so beautiful. Where the heck were you standing? Your write-up on the Marengo was spot on. The right twists and turns. Dishwasher or not, I still need to wash my pots and pans and knives by hand. So, less is better. I used beef, knew chicken would work also ( I’m thinking that was Napoleon’s chef’s first choice before he could find a little fatted calf) but didn’t think of lamb. I like the choice of sauce ingredients and the entire stew worked for me also. How does this sound for next Saturday night’s dinner: Dorie’s Carottes Râpées, David Lebovitz’s Poulet à la Moutarde with Pommes Frites. I’ll pick up the wine on our Saturday tastings journey. Look forward to making David’s cover recipe with the two of you.
I have been told that when I go rogue with recipes I am not allowed to go lamb. I know! Right? I adore lamb and think it makes everything special but for some reason it is polarizing around these parts. I would gladly appreciate your roughness here Susan. Great job!
Your blog looks beautiful – almost as beautiful as Mr. Tom Sawyer!
Everything you and John make turns out so beautifully! I think I’ll cook everything together in future – glazing the veggies separately did make quite a mess in the kitchen. I’m glad to hear this worked for lamb. I think that’s what I’ll use next time, though the beef I found for this round was really tender and delicious.
Lamb would have been wonderful with the lovely rich sauce. I wish I’d put the veges in the same pot too.
Hi Susan, I am glad it went well with lamb. I was going to use lamb but my husband did not think it was a good substitution for veal. I am also glad to know that I can throw all the vegetables together and cook one pot. I would have like to cook my beef longer but it was late and dinner needed eating. Have a great week.
Hi Susan, I also threw all my veggies into the pot with the meat…it made no sense to me to cook them separately! Your stew looks luscious!! I love your very cute kitty!
Just catching up after returning from warmer climes. Before I forget, that cat is GORGEOUS. I like the Susanizing version. While I did like the glazing of the vegetables, I agree it was a lot of pots. Of course, I’m known in my kitchen for dirtying the maximum number of pots, pans, utensils and dishes possible…
I love your idea of lamb marengo- perfect timing!!!! I will be sure to try this as we have lots of lamb that we are receiving from our meat CSA. I love your blog!!