Why it works: Carrot and clove match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 5% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 5,873 recipes. Both carry cuminaldehyde, which smells Spicy, cumin. The science ↓
Fricandeau De Veau Aux L'oseille
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the veal
Remove the fleshy fillet from the leg of veal.
Flatten it with a rolling pin.
Trim off the skin with a sharp knife.
Lard the fillet well.
Braise
In a large oval stewpan, cover the bottom and sides with slices of fat bacon.
Add the shredded onions, carrot, bay leaf, cloves, mace, and broth to the stewpan.
Layer slices of veal over the roots.
Add more bacon on top.
Place the larded fillet on this bed.
Bring the stewpan to a boil over a brisk fire.
Once boiling, reduce the heat to a low simmer.
Ensure the liquid does not cover the fillet.
After one hour, uncover the stewpan.
Baste the fillet with the juices using a spoon.
Repeat basting frequently during the cooking time.
Add consomme if the juice becomes too dry.
Cook for at least four hours until perfectly tender.
Baste again before serving.
Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures.
Explore the science
The flavor team
The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.
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Carrot + clovetop 5% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together5,873 recipes
Shared aroma: cuminaldehyde (Spicy, cumin).
-
Onion + carrottop 6% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together21,601 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
-
Clove + macetop 6% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together8,400 recipes
Shared aroma: methyleugenol (clove, spice).
-
Onion + clovetop 13% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together16,901 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonanone (fruity, floral).
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Carrot + macetop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together2,592 recipes
Shared aroma: myristicin (spice, warm).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Veal leg fillet
- Forms the main meat; long slow braising turns its connective tissue tender and moist.
- Fat bacon
- Lines the pan and bastes the meat, adding fat and savoury flavour as it renders.
- Onions
- Release sweetness and aromatic flavour into the braising liquid as they slowly cook.
- Carrot
- Adds subtle sweetness and aromatic depth to the braising liquid and juices.
- Broth
- Provides the moist cooking liquid that gently braises the veal and forms the basting juices.
The step that matters
Keep the liquid below the fillet. If the liquid covers the meat, it boils and poaches the veal instead of gently braising it, so the surface does not brown and the juices become diluted. Gentle simmering with basting keeps the fillet moist and glazed.
Swap the mace
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (veal, onion, carrot, clove):
- Celeryfits better
- Parsleyfits better
- Marjoramfits better
- Macethe original
Fit is the average pairing score against veal, onion, carrot, clove. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.
“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.
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