Tenderloin, veal, chicken, pork à la crème (dairy or coconut cream)
- Celiac Chef Oonagh Williams
- Feb 28, 2018
- 3 min read
I've never cared to eat out on Valentines, restaurants are crowded and often the meal is not as good, as well as overpriced. The Veal version was one of the recipes in my12th grade home ec book. Then in Culinary school, driving from shop to shop around a sleepy suburb of London on a Saturday afternoon is not the easiest way to find veal escalopes for a dinner party that night for boyfriend and friends. I know better now. With beef tenderloin/ fillet steak it's fabulous but with tenderloin easily $20 per pound, I've made it with Angus petite sirloin when it's on sale, as well as chicken breast and pork tenderloin. As you all know you can't even rely on any beef steak to be tender, sometimes meltingly tender, others really chewy and that can be from the same packet.
With pork tenderloin, chicken, this is really affordable for a dinner party, sauce made night before, potatoes cooked ready to reheat in boiling water.
One of my February 2017 recipes for Beyond Celiac - originally National Foundation for Celiac Awareness
2 x 4-6 oz (125 -175 g) tenderloin/fillet steaks, any silver skin removed. or veal escalopes, pork tenderloin noisettes or thin slices, chicken tenders/suprèmes. We find that more than a 6 oz tenderloin each with sauce, veg, starch is really too much for us to eat with comfort.
1 small onion, peeled and finely chopped
2 cloves of garlic, peeled and finely crushed
2-4 slices of lean bacon, scissored thin. I use Jones Dairy Farm labeled gf. Remember meat comes under USDA and doesn't have to label gf.
1-2 (15-30 ml) tbsp olive oil - originally it was butter
1/2 lb (250g) button mushrooms, washed and thinly sliced
4 tbsps (60ml) brandy
1 cup (240 ml) heavy cream - or less or Asian style coconut cream for dairy free.
juice of half a lemon
1/4 c (60ml) fresh chopped parsley
1. Heat 8-10 (20-25 cm) inch skillet over medium heat, add 1-2 tbsp olive oil and bacon and cook until bacon has started softening and releasing fat.
2. Add onion and garlic and gently cook until onion is very soft and starting to brown.
3. Add mushrooms and cook for 2-3 minutes on medium heat. Season with salt and pepper to taste. This can all be done night before party. I then remove this mix to a bowl.
4. Return skillet to heat, add lightly seasoned beef, cook over medium heat until nice sear on one side - about 5 minutes. Flip to other side, cook about 3 minutes, add mushroom mix back to pan, let heat for about 1 minute.
5. Pour brandy into measuring cup and pour onto one side of pan to heat from heat of pan. Use gas grill lighter to ignite brandy, stand well back, it will whoosh, keep kids and dogs away. If brandy is cold it won't ignite. Domestic stove tops won't normally let you ignite brandy by tilting pan the way chefs show on tv. Shake pan gently to mix.
6. Once brandy has burnt off, add cream and let everything simmer together for a few more minutes. If you have thick pieces of tenderloin or you like meat really well cooked, then cook meat for longer at step 4. Thin veal, chicken or pork escalopes will cook far quicker than a thick tenderloin.
7. Squeeze in juice of half a lemon for tang, stir in fresh parsley, simmer for one more minute.
I normally don't serve any other vegetable with this apart from some tiny potatoes.
I have also made this with thin strips of Angus petite sirloin that only took about 5 minutes cooking once browned and goes on sale in my market for $2.99/lb so very affordable. Light (single) cream doesn't have the same rich flavor.
