Skip to main content
Main

Veal Stew

A stew of veal, onions, paprika, tomato, green peppers, and lard, simmered slowly with water.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 8 ingredients
Jump to recipe ↓

Why it works: Tomato and pepper are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 7% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 17,923 recipes. Both carry 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine, which smells earthy, pea. The science ↓

Veal Stew

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare

  1. Cut the veal into small squares and wash it.

  2. Let the veal stand in water.

Make the stew

  1. Chop the onions finely and fry them in hot lard until they are yellow.

  2. Add paprika and veal to the onions.

  3. Add salt, tomato, and green peppers.

  4. Stir well and cook slowly covered until the gravy reduces.

  5. Add ½ cup of water.

  6. Continue cooking until ready to serve, about 1.5 hours.

Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

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.

  1. Tomato + peppertop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together17,923 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).

  2. Onion + tomatotop 8% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together20,633 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).

  3. Onion + peppertop 11% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together68,474 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).

  4. Veal + oniontop 17% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together6,841 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).

  5. Veal + tomatotop 18% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together709 recipes

    Shared aroma: 3-hexenal (apple, fruity).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Veal
Slow, covered cooking breaks down its connective tissue, making the meat tender and rich.
Onions
Frying them until yellow builds a sweet, savory base for the gravy.
Lard
Fat for frying the onions, carrying flavor and helping them brown.
Paprika
Gives the stew its red colour and a mild, warm flavour.
Tomato
Adds acidity and body, thickening the gravy as it cooks down.
Green peppers
Contribute a fresh, slightly bitter vegetable flavour that softens during cooking.

The step that matters

Cook slowly, covered, until the gravy reduces. Low, covered heat lets the veal become tender without drying or toughening. Cooking too hot or uncovered can scorch the paprika and onions and leave the meat chewy before the gravy has thickened.

Swap the onion

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (veal, tomato, pepper):

  1. Capsicumfits better
  2. Carrotfits better
  3. Okrafits better
  4. Onionthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against veal, tomato, pepper. 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.

More veal stew recipes

with Rice 16with Peas 10with Vegetables 9French 5with Gooseberries 5with Green Peas 5 See all 159 →

You might also like

Tomato SoupTomato Soup526 recipesCream of Tomato SoupCream of Tomato Soup107 recipesTomato BisqueTomato Bisque61 recipesVeal PattiesVeal Patties50 recipes