Veal stew with speck and thyme // The First Latvian cookbook
There are times when you see a recipe and it makes you stop and raise eyebrows. There are also times when you read a recipe and you want to make it because of one particular ingredient. And then there are times when you start salivating from just the thought of it.
Last month I was looking for a recipe in the The First Latvian cookbook to recreate as a way to celebrate one of my favourite national holidays. I ended up sharing a Viennese cake recipe. However, after publishing it, there was one recipe that I just couldn’t stop thinking about. The recipe in question was a recipe for a veal stew with speck and thyme.
Traditionally in Latvia we don’t eat beef that often. Cows were usually kept for dairy and field fertilisation, hence too precious to be eaten on a regular basis. Even now if you travel around the country, you won’t often see plethora of beef dishes on offer. Our love lies with pork. One of the reasons why this particular recipe caught my eye was the use of speck. Which we as a nation love so much, that we created a whole dish that centres around it and we bake it when only the thinnest occasion calls for. Maybe I was just feeling a little homesick but I just really wanted to cook with it. Second reason was that the speck was combined with raisins, cloves and nutmeg, which intrigued me to no end. So to get this recipe out of my head and quench my curiosity, I decided to cook this dish. And since it is the wonderful twinkle light and cosy sweater season, it is the perfect time to publish it.
On meat and speck. My butcher said that they don’t sell veal, but instead a very young beef. Apparently the difference between the two (that they are selling) is very marginal so I just got that. The cut was chuck. If you decide to use different cut, don’t forget to adjust the cooking time. Lastly, if you can’t find speck, use bacon.
Veal stew with speck and thyme
500 grams veal, cut into chunky pieces
1 small onion, peeled and cut in half
2 bay leaves
6 cloves
1/4 nutmeg
knob of butter
salt
1 litre water
60 grams speck, cut into small pieces
few thyme springs
1 tsp flour
Handful of raisins
Spike the onion with cloves and put it in a medium sized pot along with the veal, bay leaves, nutmeg, salt, butter and water. Bring everything to a boil, then turn the heat down and let it simmer until the meat is tender fork. It took around 2h 30min for me. Take the meat out, strain and reserve the leftover stock. I got around 200 ml. In a pan fry some speck until crispy and oils have come out, then add thyme, flour and butter. Cook until fragrant, then slowly add the leftover stock all the while stirring. Once the sauce is made, return the meat, add raisins and mix everything in. Serve hot.
A few things I would change. First, I would sear the meat in butter before stewing it to get some extra flavour. Secondly, I would actually remember to add raisins along with the meat not halfway through eating my dinner. Lastly, I would soak the raisins in hot water or even some brandy/bourbon/whisky to plump them up and add the soaking liquid to the gravy. Otherwise, I loved this dish. I will definitely revisit this dish once the weather cools down again in Australia.
P.S. I forgot to add raisins when I finished the dish and photographed it. I only remembered to do only halfway eating the dish. I don’t usually gravitate towards any dried fruits but here it have a big difference. The dish went from rather good to I can’t wait to make it again.
Source
Harder, Christoph, Tā pirmā pavāru grāmata no vāces grāmatām pārtulkota, Vidzemes plānošanas reģions, 2018 (You can find the book free online here if you wish to have a look. Note that it is only available in Latvian. Old Latvian to complicate things. )
