Veal Escalope with Asparagus and Mushrooms

One of the things I'll miss most about leaving the UK is that we have the best butcher in the world, right down the street from us. He's got everything down there, and this veal came from him. Veal is inexplicably hard to get your hands on around here; the Brits don't really eat much of it. They rear it, but end up exporting most of it. Too bad, 'cuz it kicks ass.

This was a very simple recipe out of Gordon Ramsay's Great British Pub Food cookbook. Asparagus is at it's peak right now, so best jump on that train while you can. The taste of the veal itself here was amazing. Just seasoned with salt and pepper, the meat just has such a buttery-rich flavor. Start to finish, this took about 20 minutes to throw together a couple of plates. Yum.

4x170 g thin British rose veal escalopes
500 g asparagus, trimmed
2 tablespoons olive oil
500 g mixed mushrooms, such as st. George's and ceps, sliced
1 sprig thyme, leaves stripped
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
few knobs butter
2-3 tablespoons double cream

Pat the veal escalopes dry with kitchen paper and set aside. Bring a pot of salted water to the boil. Peel the lower part of the asparagus stalks, then add to the boiling salted water and blanch for 2-3 minutes until just tender. Lift the spears out with a pair of tongs and plunge them into a bowl of iced water to stop the cooking process. Drain and set aside.

Heat 1 tbsp of olive oil in a wide pan until hot. Add the mushrooms, thyme leaves and a good pinch of salt and pepper. Add a few knobs of butter to the pan and fry the mushrooms for 2-3 minutes until golden brown and any moisture released has been cooked off. Add the cream and stir well to mix. Cook for a few seconds, then turn off the heat and keep warm.

Season the veal escalopes with salt and pepper. Heat a wide frying pan until very hot and add the remaining olive oil. In two batches, sear the veal over a high heat for about 30 seconds on each side until golden brown and slightly springy when gently pressed. Transfer to a warm plate and keep warm while you fry the rest of the veal.

Reheat the asparagus in simmering water for a minute, then drain. Place a veal escalope on each warm plate and arrange the asparagus alongside. Sprinkle some salt and pepper and drizzle some good olive oil over the asparagus. Spoon over the creamed mushrooms and serve.