Let's Talk Blanquette de Veau

An old-school French fave that should be in your repertoire

Blanquette de veau in Paris at Brasserie Lipp.

First, a word of apology for not getting out an extra post this week. I contracted Covid last week and am still on the mend. It hasn't been debilitating, but I've been low on energy. Just when I had all but forgotten about the Big C… bang! I'm feeling quite a bit better today but sad I missed out on a few events while sleeping off the fever and headaches.

While wallowing in self-pity, I can't deny thoughts of food wafted through my head, two dishes especially: risotto and blanquette de veau. The risotto, made last night with what I could scrounge up (leftover rotisserie chicken, homemade chicken stock, frozen peas, tons of Parmesan), turned out to be a big hit. But the blanquette is on my mind because I’ve been fiddling with a recipe for a few weeks now for my next French cookbook coming out in the fall. I had been debating whether to add it to the book because I seem to spend an inordinate amount of time developing recipes based on French classics. But those classics remain for a reason, and with blanquette de veau, despite its fancy name, I see it as one of my top comfort foods. It also appears to be having a moment, as I’m noticing recipes for it everywhere.