Un pot au feu de veau

This is a very simple recipe. It's called a pot au feu in French — a "pot on the fire" or boiled dinner. It's usually made with beef, but it's also very good with veal, chicken, pork, or other meats. My veal was a boned, rolled, and tied veal shoulder roast.

Slide the meat into a big pot of boiling water with salt, pepper, and bay leaves (you can add some peeled garlic cloves and some allspice berries). After 15 or 20 minutes of cooking, add an onion and some peeled carrots, turnips, parsnips, leeks (well washed) and other root vegetables to the pot. If you want to have potatoes with it, cook them separately or in the broth for about 30 minutes or until tender.(I had some cooked broccoli, so I heated it up in the microwace and served it with the other vegetables.)

Let the meat and vegetables simmer on low heat for about three hours. When the vegetables are tender, it's done and the meat will be cooked too. Serve some of each along with a bowl of the broth, some melted butter (for the cooked vegetables), and some Dijon mustard (for the meat). I'll have leftovers for the rest of the week, or for the rest of the month if you count making a big pot of soup with the broth in a few days.