Home › The Principles of Cookery › Veal, with Cucumbers

Veal, with Cucumbers

Roast a neck or a loin of veal, or any veal that is left. The leg part is tough and dry, as everyone must know. When cold, cut it into scallops, and put it into the sauce blanquette. Take six fine cucumbers, cut three of them into quarters, pare them about the size of the scallops; then take and mince the parings and some other pieces with a little onion to make a puree. Fry the onions and the trimmings of the cucumbers together in a little butter; when the cucumbers are quite tender, moisten with sauce tournee, and stew them on the corner of the stove for an hour; skim off the grease, and rub this sauce through a tamis. Put the other whole cucumbers into some sauce tournee, and let them boil till done. Before putting the cucumbers in the sauce, they must be marinaded in a basin with a little salt and a thimbleful of white vinegar; let them remain for half an hour, and then drain them in a clean towel, and put them in the sauce, if you have any; otherwise, put them in a stewpan with a small bit of butter, a bundle of parsley, and a few green onions; fry them gently, then dredge them with about a spoonful of fine white flour, and moisten with good broth; let that boil for an hour in the corner of the stove, skim all the butter, drain the cucumbers in a hair sieve, and reduce the sauce till it is fit to receive the thickening. When you have no sauce in your larder, make some according to the recipes given for Blanche Sauce or Brown Sauce.