Axoa de veau

This casserole was our family’s favourite in France and when I cannot get white veal in New Zealand, I prepare it with pork or lamb. Often axoa will be prepared from coarsely minced veal, making a bolognaise-like casserole. Either way, mashed potatoes are a great partner.

Ingredients

1 ½ kgs	Veal, shoulder is best as you need some fat to carry the flavour (Main)
1 tsp	Flaky sea salt, less if finely milled
½ tsp	Ground pepper, use up to 1 tsp, white or black
1 tsp	Piment d'espelette, or use paprika and a good pinch of chilli powder
¼ cup	Olive oil, use up to 1/3 cup
1 large	Onion, peeled and finely chopped
1	Red capsicum, use 2 if desired, diced; deep, ripe red ones are best
8	Green chillies, use up to 10, deseeded and sliced
4 large	Garlic cloves, use up to 6, peeled and sliced
1 ½ cups	Veal, or use chicken stock, water and stock cubes are fine (Main)

Directions

1. Heat the oven to 160C.
2. Cut the meat in chunky-sized pieces and, with your hands, massage the salt, pepper and piment d'espelette into the meat – a dash of oil will help the process.
3. Heat half the oil in a frying pan and cook the onion, capsicum, chilli and garlic over a moderate heat until the vegetables have wilted. Transfer to a casserole.
4. Brown the veal in the remaining oil until just golden brown. This will be best done in batches to ensure the meat browns to a caramel colour which will add great flavour to the dish.
5. Pour the stock into the pan, stirring over a low heat to lift any sediment from the pan. Add to the casserole and cover.
6. Cook in the preheated oven for about 1 ½ hours or until the meat is tender. Stand for 15 minutes before serving.

Make it in the slow cooker

Brown the ingredients as above and transfer to a slow cooker. Cook on low for about 6 hours until tender. Cooking on high is not recommended for lean veal which can become tough and stringy. Shoulder pork, beef or lamb can better tolerate a higher temperature where cooking time will be about 3-4 hours.