Fricando veal. Catalan recipe

How to make beef fricandó .

This meat recipe is a classic in Catalan cuisine , it is the traditional  beef fricandó .

In the blog I published a few years ago a frincandá to the taste of home , although it is not the traditional one, today I leave you with the recipe of Alicia, a Catalan friend.

It consists of a beef stew that is cooked with mushrooms. Mainly with  moixernó or perretxico , being able to use senderuelas or chanterelles that are similar.

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It is a typically autumnal dish due surely to the availability of finding these fresh mushrooms almost exclusively at this time of year. We can also use dried mushrooms which will give us the option of cooking this stew on any other date.

Unlike other traditional dishes of our culture, the fricandó is a recipe of urban origin or typical of people with greater purchasing power and not peasants.

The first time this dish appeared in any recipe book was in ” Notices and instructions for the beginner cook” , back in the early eighteenth century. From this moment it appeared in all the Catalan cuisine manuals.

As a good meat stew it reaches its peak of flavor in days after its preparation, so we can prepare it in advance taking our time and enjoying the process.

Mushrooms

1. We put the dehydrated mushrooms to soak in water for 20 or 25 minutes, until they have completely softened. We reserve.
2. If we are in season and we are lucky to have fresh perrexicos this step will not be necessary. We will only have to clean them thoroughly and reserve them.

Preparation of the future beef fricandó base

1. We ask our butcher to cut the piece of meat from the veal cap into fillets of about 1 cm. thick, ideal for stewing.
2. Already at home we flour each fillet and in a large casserole that we will use for the stew we heat a good jet of olive oil.
3. In that casserole, brown the fillets on both sides.
4. It is not necessary to fry them, it is about sealing the meat well on all sides. Remove from the casserole and reserve.
5. In the same saucepan and with the same oil, fry the onion and garlic, cut into small cubes.
6. We will keep it at medium temperature to get the onion to soften without burning.
7. When the onion is ready add the peeled and grated tomatoes.
8. It is important that the tomatoes are of quality and well ripe. We cook for 15 minutes at medium temperature.

Cooking and final presentation of the fricandó

1. While the stew is being prepared, toast the pine nuts in a frying pan without oil for a few minutes.
2. We have to be very careful that they do not burn us and we reserve.
3. When the sauce is soft, add the mushrooms and cook for 5 more minutes.
4. We add the veal fillets that we have reserved and the white wine.
5. We let the alcohol evaporate for 2-3 minutes. Add and toasted pine nuts.
6. Fill with water, add the bay leaf, salt and let cook for 1 hour over medium low heat until the sauce is reduced.

In this fricandó we have used quality products, so the recipe already has many points for it to turn out well, yummy.

If you still do not have it clear, I leave you a step by step in photos of this recipe for fricandó . Do not miss any detail and they will be perfect.

Tips for a yummy fricandó

• It tells me Marisol Vilá Casanova tells me that “you never get tomatoes, but like the rest of your recipe ingredients (like my mother); pine nuts, as the pocket goes that week. I use dry moixernons; hydrated in warm water. When adding water to the stew, I use that of the moixernons, strained through a cloth strainer so that it passes clean. The perfume and forest flavor that turns out like this is phenomenal. ”
• Like any good stew worth its salt, this fricandó will surely be even better the day after its preparation.
• It is a perfect recipe to accompany with some French fries or kitchens or even with a little white rice , with any of these options it is a second class dish, a yummy recipe.
• We can only enjoy one of the most traditional recipes in Catalonia, even if it is made by a Galician.
• Each one there or here gives it its personal touch, there are dozens of different versions.
• I recommend that with this same preparation or you dare with some meatballs, they are impressive.