Veal Orloff - Veal Roast That Can Wait

Veal Prince Orloff, Veal Prince Orlov, Veal Orloff, or Veal Orlov is a 19th-century dish of Russian cuisine, which was created by the French chef Urbain Dubois in the employ of Prince Orloff, 

former Russian ambassador to France.  Source Wikipedia 

The secret of this dish is in making a very tasty stuffing, which is slathered over slices of perfectly cooked Veal,  Covered with Cheese sauce and can be prepared earlier in the day and baked just before dinner is needed

Make ahead, in fact it is probably better, so that flavours meld
I was inspired by Julia Child and it was excellent
You can buy the meat especially, to make this dish or 
Even better, on this occasion I had a piece of Lamb Rump
leftover from dinner the previous night
Why not improvise and use Lamb instead of Veal, so I did
Got the thumbs up from my Lodger
I served it with Mashed Potatoes and Mrs Child’s idea for tarting up Frozen Peas
Recipe below


I will give the instructions to make the "stuffing" first
This can be made and put aside until needed
It is made up of of Rice and Onion Puree
Chopped Mushroom Sauce
and a good old Bechamel Sauce

Please don't be put off by the steps, it is worth it

First prepare the Soubise (Rice and onions)
¼ cup raw white rice
1 litre boiling water
1 Tb salt

Drop the rice into boiling salted water.
Boil 5 minutes. Drain.

3 Tb butter
A 6- to 8-cup, heavy, fireproof casserole with cover
1 lb. (3½ cups) sliced yellow onions
½ tsp salt

Melt the butter in a pan
Stir in the onions and salt, and coat well with butter; 

stir in the rice.

Cover and cook over very low heat for 45 minutes to 1 hour,
until the rice and onions are very tender but not browned.
Keep an eye on it and if the mix is getting too brown add some water
Puree in a blender and set aside

The Mushroom Duxelles

250 gms finely minced fresh mushrooms (makes 2 cups)
3 Tb minced shallots or green onions
2 Tb butter
1 Tb oil

An 8-inch heavy-bottomed skillet
Salt and pepper

Melt the butter and the Oil in the hot pan
Add onions and mushrooms

Toss together and cook for about 5-6 minutes until  all juices are absorbed
Season with Salt and Pepper
Set aside

Make the Béchamel Sauce
Take a  heavy-bottomed saucepan

6 Tb butter
8 Tb flour
3 Cups Hot Milk
1 Bay leaf
Sea salt and Freshly Ground Black pepper
Pinch of nutmeg

½ cup whipping cream
1/2 cup Grated Cheese
Extra grated Cheese for topping

Infuse the milk with Bay Leaf and good grind of Pepper 
Use the microwave for this so so simple

Melt the butter in the saucepan.
Stir in the flour and cook slowly together, stirring,
until they foam for 2 minutes without coloring.

Remove from heat,
pour in all the hot liquid at once and beat vigorously with wire whip.
Beat in the seasonings.
Bring to the boil, stirring, and boil for 1 minute.
Correct seasoning.
Sauce will be very thick.

Pour 1 cup of sauce into the cooked rice and onions.

Add mushrooms to the onion and rice mix

Beat the cream into the rest of the sauce and set aside

Now you are ready to assemble

Slice the roast meat into neat serving slices about 3/16 of an inch thick,
piling them to one side in the order in which you sliced them.
The roast is now to be returned in slices to the serving platter:
Place the last slice you carved in the platter,
sprinkle lightly with salt and pepper,
then spread with a spoonful of the filling.
Overlap the next slice of veal on the first, sprinkle with salt and pepper,
spread with filling, and continue thus down the length of the platter.
Spread any extra filling around and over the meat.

Take the remaining Béchamel Sauce and warm it up
You may need to add a little more cream or milk if necessary
Take off heat
Add the 1/3 cup grated cheese
Beat well till cheese melted

Spoon over the meat

Cover with extra grated cheese

About 30 to 40 minutes before serving, set in the upper position of a preheated, 180 C-degree oven until the sauce is bubbling and the top has browned lightly.
Do not overcook, or the meat will dry out and lose character.

Once ready, the dish will stay warm for 20 to 30 minutes in the turned-off hot oven, its door ajar.

So to make the best Pureed/Mashed Potatoes
This may sound strange but I got this idea from another Cooking Icon
Delia Smith
Beat your cooked potatoes with a hand held electric Beater
It's a bit hard to give exact quantities, so this a rule of thumb way to cook


1 med Potato per person, more for greedy people
Milk
Butter
Freshly Ground Black Pepper

Peel and cut potatoes into large cubes
Put into cold salted water
Bring to boil and simmer till fork tender

Drain
Back onto the heat
add enough milk to just cover the bottom of the pan

Get out your handbeater and start slowly to beat

Start adding  knobs of cold butter, till it reaches the consistency that you like

Season with Freshly Ground Black Pepper

Now
How To Make Frozen Peas a bit more exciting
This method of cooking frozen peas gives them the character they often lack.
Use two pans when you are cooking more than two 500 gms packs of peas;
if too many peas are cooked in one pan,
the cooking liquid will not evaporate by the time the peas are done.

For each 500 gm package of frozen peas:
1 Tb butter
1 Tb minced shallots or green onions
¼ tsp salt
Pinch of pepper
½ cup chicken stock or canned chicken or mushroom broth, or water

Allow the peas to thaw enough so they can be separated.
Bring the butter, shallots or green onions, seasonings, and liquid to the boil in a pan. 

Add the peas, cover, and boil slowly for 5 to 6 minutes or until the peas are tender.

Uncover and rapidly boil off any remaining liquid.
Correct seasoning.

Put peas and potatoes in serving dishes
Maybe a little more  butter on the Potatoes
Voila... Dinner is served

Devour. It is fantastic