Vitello (veal) is the name of the baby male cow who hasn’t reached 12 months of age and doesn’t weigh more than 250 kg. Because of its young age, veal meat is much leaner than beef, much more tender and easier to digest. It also contains much less cholesterol and is considered a “white meat” (as opposed to “red meat”) and therefore much better for you.
Veal is readily available in Italy, although still one of the more costly meats, and there are an infinite number of recipes that are part of the traditional Italian kitchen. We have veal roasts and rollé, veal steaks, with and without the bone, veal fillet which are both thick and tissue paper thin, ground veal and just about anything else you can imagine.Here are two traditional Italian veal recipes: Involtini alla Siciliana and Vitello Primavera al Limone
Italian Veal Recipe #1
Involtini alla Siciliana | Veal Rolls with Artichokes
“Involtini” in Italy are rolled, stuffed, slices of meat and there is no end to the different combinations of meat and stuffing that can be found in the Italian kitchen. This particular “involtini alla Sinciliana” (Italian veal rolls) recipe originated in Sicily where artichokes are grown, and according to legend, may have even originated from here, making this a very important ingredient of the region’s gastronomical flavors. This is how you can make this great Italian veal recipe:
Ingredients for Veal Rolls Recipe
500 gr (17oz approx) thinly sliced veal4 Artichokes
1 Lemon
150 gr (5 oz approx.) prosciutto
Fresh aneto or dill
Fresh basil
2 little cubes herbed butter.
1 Small onion.
Flour to dust.
White wine.
Broth (chicken preferable but beef OK).
Toothpicks (for securing together the veal).
Veal Rolls Preparation
First trim the artichokes down to the most tender part (practically to the heart) and place in boiling salt water with the juice of a lemon for 5 minutes. Let the artichokes drain and cool, then scoop out center fluff and cut into 4ths or smaller.
Place prosciutto, aneto (dill), basil in a food processor and mix, then add the two cubes of herbed butter to make a compost.
Pound veal slices with meat hammer, if necessary and lightly salt and pepper the thin veal slices. (the recipe asks for thinly sliced veal fillet but if you cannot get this you could also experiment with thinly sliced turkey fillet). Put the compost and 2 small pieces of artichoke in the middle of the veal and roll it up. Secure it together with toothpicks and roll it in flour.
To cook, sauté 1 onion in oil, add the involtini alla Siciliana (Veal rolls) and brown it then add white wine and let simmer, adding the broth as it is necessary.
Italian Veal Recipe #2
Vitello Primavera al Limone (Veal with lemon)
Vitello Primavera al Limone, aka, springtime veal with lemon, uses veal stewing cubes which are cut from a tougher part of the animal and therefore needs to be slowly cooked for a fairly long time. But you will find that the end result is very tasty and extremely tender. Here is the Italian veal recipe for you to make:
Vitello Primavera al Limone Ingredients
3 lb veal cubes
Flour to dust.
1 cup of dry white wine
2 fresh lemons
Salt
Pepper
Fresh parsley, chopped
Small package pine nuts
Preparation for Vitello Primavera al Limone
Coat the veal cubes in flour and brown in a pot (one that has a cover and can be placed into the oven). Add one cup of white wine and the zest of the lemons (make sure to only zest the yellow part of the skin and not any of the white pith since that will make it very bitter). Lightly salt and pepper the veal and bake in the oven, covered, at 350° F. for roughly 40 min. (or until the veal can be pulled apart with a fork).
Stir the mix and add the juice of the lemons at the very end (otherwise it will toughen the veal), put back in the oven for 5 min. Stir in a handful of chopped parsley and pine nuts before serving for flavour.