Veal Madeira with Vlita Greens

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Veal Madeira.jpg

Some twenty years ago, when I was in my 20’s, I have started experimenting with dishes from different countries. I remember one day, I invited a certain guy I was interested in and I had to make dinner. The package included everything; candles, long neck glasses, nice tablecloth, wine etc. I was trying to find a dish that would really make a difference, when I discovered a recipe booklet from a company selling olive oil and margarines. In there, there was a recipe for Fillet Mignon in Madeira Sauce.

Well, I couldn’t found something more glamorous, sophisticated and unique. So, I went ahead and made it and it was really good. The guy was proven fake, but the recipe stayed and I have been making it quite sometimes after that first time. The Madeira wine is sweet and resembles a little bit the Marsala wine. Also, by marinating the veal, it becomes extremely juicy and tender.

Veal Madeira.jpg

Madeira according to Wikipedia is a Portuguese archipelago that lies just under 400 km north of  Tenerife, Canary Islands, in the north Atlantic Ocean and an outermost region of the European Union. Today, it is a popular year-round resort, being visited every year by about one million tourists, noted for its Madeira wine, flowers, landscapes and embroidery artisans, as well as for its annual New Year celebrations that feature the largest fireworks show in the world, as officially recognized by the Guinness World Records, in 2006.

This dish matches perfectly with pasta or potatoes Duchess style, with which I accompanied it the first time. This time, and since I and my husband are in a weight control program, I have decided to pair it with vlita greens.

In Greece as I told you in my previous post, we eat many different kinds of greens. Since some of you were interested in them, I will try in my following posts and whenever is possible to present to you all different varieties.

Today we will start with vlita.

Again Wikipedia says that: ‘Amaranthus viridis is a cosmopolitan species in the botanical family Amaranthaceae and is commonly known as Slender Amaranth or Green Amaranth.

Amaranthus viridis is eaten traditionally as a vegetable in South India, especially in Kerala, where it is known as “Kuppacheera”

In Greece it is called vlita (βλήτα) and is one of the varieties of “horta” or greens known in Greek cuisine which are boiled and served with olive oil and lemon.

Veal Madeira.jpg

It is also eaten as a vegetable in parts of Africa. In Jamaica it is eaten as a vegetable and is known locally as callaloo (not to be confused with callaloo of most other countries).

Amaranthus viridis is used as a medicinal herb in traditional Ayurvedic medicine, under the Sanskrit name Tanduliya.”

Ok, I think we had enough of  Wikipedia for one day, so let’s proceed immediately to the recipe for this extremely juicy and tasty veal. The original recipe for the sauce comes from here.

 

Veal Madeira with Vlita Greens

Ingredients

For the Marinade

1 kilo/2 lb. veal roll or as in my case calf roll

½ cup Madeira wine

1 tsp onion powder

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 tsp Italian herbs

1 tsp ground green and pink pepper

  Veal Madeira.jpg

 

For the Sauce

12 tbsp Madeira wine

6 tbsp tomato puree

1 tbsp margarine

150 gr. mushrooms, sliced

4 tbsp evaporated milk

1 tsp corn flour

 

Toasted slices of bread cut in circles

 

For the Vlita

1 kilo/2 lb. vlita greens

  Veal Madeira.jpg

 

Instructions

Mix all the ingredients in a blender for the marinade.

Pour the marinade to a non-reactive vessel and place the meat in it too.

Let it marinate for at least six hours or, as I did, overnight.

Preheat oven to 225°C/437°F.

Strain the marinade and keep aside.

Pat dry the meat with kitchen napkin.

Take a pan and pour 1 glass of water.

Place a rack inside the pan and put the meat on the rack.

Cook it until it is done according to your liking, brushing it every 10 minutes with the strained marinade.

Veal Madeira.jpg

 

I like my meat very well done without any blood. For 1 kilo/2lb. of this veal and so as to be juicy but not blooded, it took me 1 hour and 15 minutes.

If you have thermometer, the temperature on the center of the meat must arrive at about 68°C/154°F. At this point you should take the meat out and let it rest for about 10 minutes. Bear in mind that the meat is still cooking while resting.

 

As the meat is cooked, we make the sauce and we boil the vlita greens.

Veal Madeira.jpg

For the Sauce

In a skillet add the margarine in medium heat and sauté the mushrooms.

Add the tomato puree and cook for about 10 minutes.

Add the wine reserving 2 tbsp of wine for later and cook for another 5 minutes.

Add salt and pepper.

Pour the milk in which you have dissolved the corn flour and stir until the sauce starts to thicken.

A minute before you turn off the fire, pour the 2 tbsp of the wine and stir.

  Veal Madeira.jpg

Boil the vlita greens exactly as you do with spinach.

 

Assembly

In a plate put the circled bread as a bed for the veal.

Cut the veal in pieces.

Veal Madeira.jpg

Place one piece of veal on top of the bread slice and garnish with the vlita greens around it!

You can serve it with pasta or potatoes Duchess style, which I will show you in a following post!

I am sending this to Full Plate Thursday, hosted by Miz Helen!

Veal Madeira.jpg

 

5.0 from 7 reviews
Veal Madeira with Vlita Greens
 
Author/ Συγγραφέας:
Recipe type/ Τύπος Πιάτου: Main Course
Ingredients/ Συστατικά
For the Marinade
  • 1 kilo/2 lb. veal roll or as in my case calf roll
  • ½ cup Madeira wine
  • 1 tsp onion powder
  • 2 garlic cloves, minced
  • 1 tsp Italian herbs
  • 1 tsp ground green and pink pepper
For the Sauce
  • 12 tbsp Madeira wine
  • 6 tbsp tomato puree
  • 1 tbsp margarine
  • 150 gr. mushrooms, sliced
  • 4 tbsp evaporated milk
  • 1 tsp corn flour
  • Toasted slices of bread cut in circles
For the Vlita
  • 1 kilo/2 lb. vlita greens
Instructions/ Εκτέλεση
  1. Mix all the ingredients in a blender for the marinade.
  2. Pour the marinade to a non-reactive vessel and place the meat in it too.
  3. Let it marinate for at least six hours or, as I did, overnight.
  4. Preheat oven to 225°C/437°F.
  5. Strain the marinade and keep aside.
  6. Pat dry the meat with kitchen napkin.
  7. Take a pan and pour 1 glass of water.
  8. Place a rack inside the pan and put the meat on the rack.
  9. Cook it until it is done according to your liking, brushing it every 10 minutes with the strained marinade.
I like my meat very well done without any blood. For 1 kilo/2lb. of this veal and so as to be juicy but not blooded, it took me 1 hour and 15 minutes.
If you have thermometer, the temperature on the center of the meat must arrive at about 68°C/154°F. At this point you should take the meat out and let it rest for about 10 minutes. Bear in mind that the meat is still cooking while resting.
  1. As the meat is cooked we make the sauce and we boil the vlita greens.
For the Sauce
  1. In a skillet add the margarine in medium heat and sauté the mushrooms.
  2. Add the tomato puree and cook for about 10 minutes.
  3. Add the wine reserving 2 tbsp of wine for later and cook for another 5 minutes.
  4. Add salt and pepper.
  5. Pour the milk in which you have dissolved the corn flour and stir until the sauce starts to thicken.
  6. A minute before you turn off the fire pour the 2 tbsp of the wine and stir.
  7. Boil the vlita greens exactly as you do with spinach.
Assembly
  1. In a plate put the circled bread as a bed for the veal.
  2. Cut the veal in pieces.
  3. Place one piece of veal on top of the bread slice and garnish with the vlita greens around it!
  4. You can serve it with pasta or potatoes Duchess style, which I will show you in a following post!