A Lovely Spring Sunday

Last weekend, Kyle?s mother came for a visit while on her way down to Georgia for a pearl show she was participating in. Before her arrival, Kyle and I had spent the day outside enjoying the beautiful weather out on Ocean Drive- we went for a jog, watched the kite fliers and he taught me how to take sun sights with a sextant. Before we headed out, we had made a trip to the grocery store to pick up dinner supplies so we wouldn?t be scrambling at the last minute. It had finally felt like spring for the majority of the weekend (after what seemed like an eternity of rain in Newport!), so I didn?t want to make anything too heavy or weighty after a day of enjoying the weather. I had also had a craving for veal and thought a Picatta with braised zucchini and mushroom risotto would be ideal. It was a cinch to throw together (the veal cutlets were thin and cooked quickly while the zucchini braised) and was a great light supper for a spring Sunday. There was plenty to feed four (although it was only three of us that night), and the leftovers were just as good. I?m leaving the risotto recipe out, as I?ve posted a few before, and you can really substitute any starch you like in place: a pilaf with pine nuts, wide noodles or whipped potatoes. Kyle was crazy about the zucchini, and I will definitely be making that again soon! I would recommend starting the zucchini about 25 minutes before you start the veal, as it take a bit longer to braise than it will take to make the Picatta. Additionally, this picatta technique works well for chicken (cooking time is understandably longer) or any firm whitefish.

Veal Picatta with Braised Zucchini

For the Zucchini:

-4 Medium zucchini, well cleaned with stems removed
- ½ Large sweet onion
- ¾ Cup chicken stock
-2-3 Tblspns olive oil
-2 Sprigs fresh Thyme
-Sea salt & cracked black pepper

Heat oven to 375 degrees with rack in middle position. Split cleaned zucchini in half lengthwise, and then again width wise. Slice each quarter into ¼? strips. Slice onion into similar size pieces. Toss zucchini and onion with olive oil, salt & pepper (to taste), thyme and chicken stock until evenly coated. Place in oven covered & cook for 20 minutes. After 20 minutes, remove cover, still & cook for an additional 10-12 minutes uncovered. Can be left in a warm oven until ready to serve.


For the Veal:

-1-1 ½ lbs. Veal cutlets, pounded thin
- 1 Cup flour
- 2 Tblspns capers
- Zest of ½ lemon
- Juice of ½ lemon
- ½ Lemon, thinly sliced
- ½- ¾ Cup white wine (I used Sauv Blanc, as that?s what we were drinking)
-1 Cup chicken stock
-2 Cloves garlic, minced
-3 Tblspns chopped flat leaf parsley
-Olive oil
-Sea salt & cracked black pepper

In a shallow bowl or paper bag, mix flour with salt and pepper to taste and ½ of the lemon zest (I prefer the bag method, as it gives you even flour coating and is easily disposed of). Add in veal pieces one at a time and shake to coat well after each addition. Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a large pan over medium heat. When oil is to temp, remove veal from four mixture, shake over bag to remove excess flour and sear off for 2-3 minutes per side. Cooking in batches is best, so as to not crowd cutlets and ensure even browning. Keep a watchful eye for overcooking- veal can get tough quite quickly, and burning the flour will render it unable to be used for the sauce! Remove cooked cutlets from pan and place on a wire rack set on a cookie sheet in a warm oven (zucchini can keep warm as mentioned above). Repeat process for all cutlets. Once veal has been cooked, add in wine to de-glaze pan. Add in garlic, chicken stock, lemon juice, capers, reserved lemon zest, parsley, and stir over medium heat for 5 minutes, or until sauce comes together and reduces a bit. Settle veal cutlets over starch, top with a couple of slices of fresh lemon, and spoon warm sauce over veal. Garnish with additional chopped flat leaf parsley if desired.