Veal Escalope in Lemon with Cider-Braised Endive and Apple

I took the veal recipe from the Silver Spoon cookbook, which is a popular cookbook in Italy. The cover claims that it has been the best-selling cookbook in Italy for the last 50 years. I can say it has recipes which feature virtually every ingredient you can think of, and the book is THICK.

I wanted something springy and light to complement the veal, so the endive and apple part is my own. It turned out well-balanced with the lemony-tart sauce, meaty veal, sweet apples and slight bitterness of the endive. All of the flavors were covered here and it wasn't tough to make. Hope you give it a try.

For the Veal:
500 g veal escalopes, pounded flat
flour, for dusting
80 g butter
juice of one lemon
1 tablespoon parsley

For the Endive:
2 endive heads, cored and cut lengthwise into quarters
1 apple, peeled, cored, quartered and cut into thin slices
½ cup cider
15 g butter (a small pat)
1 tablespoon sugar
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon pepper

For the Veal: Pound the escalopes lightly with a meat mallet and dust with a little flour. Melt 65g of the butter in a frying pan, add the escalopes and cook over a high heat for 5 minutes, turning several times, then season with salt. Mix the juice of one lemon with 4 tablespoons of water, pour the mixture into the pan and let it reduce slightly. Add the parsley and remaining butter, then remove from the heat when the butter has melted. Check the seasoning.

(NOTE: 1. My pan wasn't big enough to handle all of the veal at once, so I had to do them in batches. A good cooking tip is to always have the oven preheated to 50C/120F, in case you need to keep anything warm. When all of the veal is done, keep it and the sauce in the warm oven until the endive is finished.
2. The sauce is supposed to be lemony and a bit tart, but not too tart. A little more butter, salt and pepper will cut through the tartness. You want some of the acidic lemony hit in there to balance the bitterness of the endive and the sweetness of the apple)

For the Endive: Combine the endive, butter, sugar, salt and pepper in a saucepan with a wide enough base to hold the endive in one layer. Heat the liquid to a simmer and then reduce the heat to medium-low. Add the endive in one layer and cover the pan. Cook for ten minutes, turning them over at the halfway point. Then, remove the lid and increase the heat to high. Add the apples and gently mix through. Reduce the liquid all the way down until it is gone, having coated the endive and apple in sort of a glaze. Cook for a few more minutes to get some caramelization going on the endive and apple, stirring through to brown them evenly a bit.

(NOTE: I did have to play with the sugar levels here to really bring out the apple flavors. Add a bit then taste it. Repeat as necessary.)

Plate the endive with the veal on top. Pour the lemony sauce over the top and serve.