Veal Soup - Unusual Yes, Yet Also Flavorful

Veal soup is not one of the most common soup varieties but it is quite popular in some European countries. Veal soup is well loved in Bulgaria, for example. Bulgarian cuisine is a mixture of Turkish, Greek and Slavic cuisines, because of its long history of trade with the countries and its geographical position.

Veal soup recipes date back to the early late nineteenth century. As long as cattle have been domesticated there has been beef and veal. Veal has a softer flavor than beef and there are plenty of veal recipes you can use it in.

A Closer Look at Veal

So, what is veal exactly? Veal is the meat from young cattle, usually male calves because female calves are used for milk production. Only a few male calves are required for breeding purposes so surplus calves are sold for veal meat.

There are various kinds of veal and the calves are classified according to what they have been fed and their age. Milk-fed calves produce a fine-textured, lean, light pink meat. Grain-fed calves are fed milk first and then hay and grain later. This meat is fattier and a darker color. You can get as many as four servings of veal from one pound of veal meat because it does not have much waste.

Recipe for Old Fashioned Veal Soup

This recipe makes enough veal soup to serve four people. The delicious blend of herbs and spices goes amazingly with the flavor of the veal and this is a delicious soup. You can serve this soup at a dinner party and everyone will be impressed with its rich, hearty and perfectly balanced taste.

Veal soup is perhaps something you have not made, or considered making, before. If you like beef you will also like veal and this meat makes an interesting change from the chicken soup recipes you perhaps usually make.

You will need:

2 1/2 lbs lean breast veal
1 leek
2 cups dry white wine
20 black peppercorns
4 tablespoons butter
4 slices orange peel
2 cinnamon sticks
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon mace
Small bunch fresh parsley
4 carrots
2 cups chicken broth
1/8 teaspoon ground rosemary
4 turnips

How to make it:

Cut the meat into 1 1/2 inch cubes, leaving the bones intact. Slice the white part of the leek into thin rings and discard the green part. Cut the carrots and cinnamon into 2 inch lengths. Peel the turnips and cut them into eighths. Add half the butter to a soup pot and brown the veal. Remove the veal with a slotted spoon to a bowl. Brown the turnips, carrots and leeks in the rest of the butter in the same pot.

Put the veal back in the pot with the broth and wine. Put the cinnamon, orange peel, peppercorns and all but a pinch of the parsley in a string-tied piece of cheesecloth and add this to the pot. Add the salt, sugar, mace and rosemary and bring the veal soup to a boil.

Turn down the heat, cover the pot and simmer it for an hour or until the veal is tender. Adjust the seasoning partway through the cooking time. Serve garnished with the remaining fresh parsley.