James Durrant's main course

Blitz Spirit
Roasted loin, braised cheeks, sauted sweetbreads, beans, mushrooms and toast
Serves 4
Ingredients
For the blanquette
1 onion, roughly chopped
1 leek, roughly chopped
2 sticks celery, roughly chopped
1 bulb garlic
bunch parsley, stalks and leaves
1 bunch tarragon, stalks and leaves
1 bunch thyme
2 bay leaves
20 coriander seeds
10 white peppercorns
300ml/11fl oz white wine vinegar
750ml/1 bottle white wine
4 English Rose veal cheeks
2 litres/3 pints veal stock
1 litre/1 pints chicken stock
500ml/18fl oz double cream
Large knob of butter
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
8 baby leeks
8 baby onions
8 baby turnips
8 baby carrots
For the beans, mushrooms and toast
400g/14oz green beans
400g/14oz broad beans
300g/10oz dried haricot beans
300g/10oz dried butterbeans
300g/10oz girolles mushrooms
300g/10oz chestnut mushrooms
150g/5oz unsalted butter
Reduced veal sauce from blanquette
1 bunch parsley, chopped
400g/14oz English Rose veal sweetbreads
300g/10oz sourdough breadcrumbs
Salt
For the English Rose Veal loin
1 English Rose veal loin
200g/7oz unsalted butter
1 clove garlic
1 sprig thyme
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Method
1. For the blanquette, caramelise the onion, leek, celery and garlic in a large heavy bottomed
saucepan. Add the parsley and tarragon stalks, thyme, bay leaves and spices. Deglaze with the
vinegar then add the white wine and reduce. While the wine is reducing, seal the cheeks in a
separate pan then add them to the reduced wine. Cover with the stock and simmer for 4-6 hours on a
low heat. When the cheeks are really tender and soft, remove from the stock. Pass the stock through
a chinois, or fine sieve, and reduce by half. Keep half the stock to one side for the beans. To the
remaining stock, add the cream, a large knob of butter and seasoning. Put the cheeks back in and
finish with chopped tarragon and parsley and the baby vegetables.
2. For the beans and mushrooms, blanch and refresh the green beans and broad beans. Soak the
white beans and butter beans in water overnight. Cook the white beans in water with garlic and salt
for approximately 40 minutes until tender. Cook the butterbeans in the same way for approximately
30 minutes. Saut the mushrooms in a pan with a knob of butter. Add the mixed beans, a couple of
ladles of the reduced veal sauce, then finish with the chopped parsley and season with salt and
pepper.
3. For the veal sweetbreads and breadcrumbs, in a hot smoking pan, sear the sweetbreads for a
minute each side. Remove from the pan and rest. In the same pan, fry the breadcrumbs until crisp.
Finish with salt and chopped parsley. Add the sweetbreads back to the pan.
4. For the loin, preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas Mark 4. In a hot heavy pan, seal the meat all
the way round for 2 minutes each side in foaming butter. Add the clove of garlic and the sprig of
thyme, then put in the oven for about 3-4 minutes. Turn the loin then put back in the oven for about
2 minutes. Rest for 5-10 minutes.
5. To serve, make a nest with the beans, mushrooms and sweetbreads. Carve the loin and place on
top, then scatter over the breadcrumbs. In a casserole dish on the side, serve the veal cheek
blanquette stew.