Animal Flesh Recipe of the Day.

The Food Network's saucy little number, Rachel Ray, offers her take on an old favorite of mine: Veal Marsala.

Veal Marsala with Egg Fettuccini

Recipe Summary
Difficulty: Easy
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes
Yield: 4 servings




1 1/2 pounds veal cutlets for scaloppini, from the butcher counter

Salt and pepper
1/2 cup flour, a couple of scoops
4 tablespoons butter
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil, 4 turns of the pan total
1 large or 2 small shallots, chopped
24 crimini (baby portobello) mushrooms, thinly sliced
1 cup Marsala
1/2 cup beef stock, from canned soups aisle
1 box, 12 to 14 ounces, egg fettuccini, cooked to al dente
Finely chopped flat leaf parsley, for garnish


Season veal with salt and pepper. Place a large piece of plastic food wrap on a cutting board or work surface. Arrange veal between cutlets on the plastic wrap. Cover veal with additional plastic wrap and a sheet of waxed paper. Gently pound out veal with meat mallet or a small, heavy frying pan. Fold veal up in its plastic and waxed paper wrapper and set aside.

Preheat a large skillet over medium high heat. Build an assembly line between the veal and the hot pan: veal, shallow dish with flour, butter and olive oil, pile of shallots and sliced mushrooms, Marsala and beef stock.

Place a large platter over low heat on the burner adjacent to your veal pan. Warm it, then turn off the heat. Begin cooking the veal Marsala just before your egg fettucini goes into cooking water; the veal will take 12 minutes, the pasta 7 or 8. If you are serving the suggested side dishes or a salad, these dishes should be assembled before the veal.

Dredge the veal lightly in flour. Saute cutlets in a single layer 2 minutes on each side. For each batch of veal, use 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil, 1 turn of the pan, and 1 tablespoon butter. Transfer cooked cutlets to the warm serving platter. If you have a 12 to 14-inch skillet, you should be able to make just 2 batches.

Add another tablespoon extra-virgin oil and 1 tablespoon butter to the skillet. Add half of the chopped shallots and all of the sliced mushrooms to the pan and season with salt and pepper. Saute the shallots and mushrooms for 5 minutes. Add Marsala to the pan and bring up pan drippings. Add 1/4 cup beef stock and when it bubbles, add 1 tablespoon butter to the pan to gloss your sauce. Spoon mushrooms and Marsala down over the veal. Return the pan to the stove. Add remaining extra-virgin oil, butter and remaining shallots to the skillet. Cook shallots 1 to 2 minutes. Add remaining 1/4 cup beef stock to the shallots and add the egg fettucini to the pan. Toss fettuccini with broth and butter and season with salt and chopped parsley. Transfer pasta to a serving dish and serve with warm veal Marsala.