Veal Francese
Ingredients
- 1/2 lb veal scaloppine, pounded thin
- 1 egg
- 3 TBSP fresh lemon juice
- 1/4 cup flour
- 2 TBSP butter
- 1 TBSP olive oil
- 1/3 cup dry white wine, such as Pinot Grigio
- 1 cup arugula
- 1 pound fettuccine (or other thin pasta of your choosing)
- Salt & Pepper for seasoning
Directions
- Step 1 Place veal pieces between 2 sheets of waxed paper and pound with a mallet until they’re thin. Season veal lightly with salt and pepper.
- Step 2 Now set up your dredging station. Whisk egg with 1 TBSP lemon juice in a shallow dish. (A trick to getting lemon juice out of the lemon? Heat for 15 seconds in the microwave!) Put some flour on a plate and mix with a fork to distribute evenly.
- Step 3 Dip each slice of veal in egg then dredge in flour, shaking off the excess.
- Step 4 Heat a skillet over medium-high heat, add butter and olive oil. Once melted, add the slices of veal to the skillet. Add the cutlets and fry for 2 minutes on each side until golden, turning once. Remove the veal to a large platter in a single layer to keep warm. You may need to cook the veal in rounds, you don’t want to crowd the skillet. Be careful to not let the oil/butter burn off too much, the veal will start to blacken and not brown. You can add more butter/oil if need be!
- Step 5 Once the veal is done cooking, add remaining lemon juice and wine to the skillet. Bring to a boil and stir, scraping up all of the brown bits from the bottom of the pan. Depending on how much the coating burned in the pan, you can strain the sauce after this step if you need to.
- Step 6 Serve veal with pasta and/or arugula (we couldn’t decide so we did both!) and spoon sauce over the veal.
This is one of those simply elegant dinners that you can easily replicate for a weeknight or anytime you’re entertaining and want to impress. For those who are curious, Francese means just what you think – “in the French manner,” but it really refers to a food that is dipped in flour and egg, then fried, then dressed with lemon juice or a lemony sauce. I love getting an education about what I’m making! We made this on a Sunday night after a busy weekend of kid activities and it’s honestly effortless. It’s also fun if you have two chefs in the kitchen; then you can tag team and one person can dredge the veal while the other mans the stove. Plus (in my opinion) it’s not an overly indulgent dish either, so you don’t have to feel too much guilt about carbo-loading. Some days you just want a fresh plate of pasta with simple fresh ingredients and that’s not much to ask!
These are by far the best pans we’ve found for frying and this set of 3 is such a steal!
Two iterations of the dish, one with arugula, one without:
I'm Amanda - a Mom, chef & blogger with a wholehearted approach to cooking and life. Things are always a little crazy around here with two toddlers underfoot, but nothing brings me greater joy than welcoming you into into my kitchen (and our home)! Learn more about me 