Rôti de veau braisé et ses légumes

Braised veal, in the form of a boned, rolled, and tied roast, is a really good autumn treat. Now that the weather has changed from being torrid to being milder, it's a pleasure to cook braised dishes or plats mijotés You could make the same kind of thing with a chicken, a turkey breast, or a pork roast.

I used my new non-stick wok ("chef's pan") for the braised veal. I bought it from Amazon a few weeks ago and I use it a lot.

The first step in cooking this kind of pot roast is to brown the meat in a little bit of olive oil. Or other oil, or butter, or a mixture. I did my best to brown it on every side. When it was lightly browned, I took it out of the pan and put in a good quantity of diced onion, celery, and carrot, along with some quartered tomatoes, in the pan on low heat and let everything "sweat" or soften for 10 or 15 minutes.

Then I moved the vegetables to the sides of the wok and put the roast back in. I added some chicken broth, but not too much, and set the pan back on the heat, covered. I put in herbs (bay leaves, oregano, thyme...) and spices (black pepper, cayenne pepper, ground cloves...).Then let it cook on low heat for two or three hours. Take the lid off the pan toward the end of the cooking to let the sauce reduce a little. You can cook it on the stovetop or in the oven.

Take the roast out of the pan when it's nearly done, and cut and remove the string that held it together as it cooked. Add more broth or water or wine as needed. Add some olives if you like them. Put the roast back in the pan, surrounded by the cooked vegetables, and let it cook for another 15 minutes. Serve with rice or pasta. The meat is fork-tender. The broth is delicious.