Émincé de Veau St. Moritz (Curried Veal St. Moritz)

This recipe, adapted from Cooking with the Saints, was submitted by Hi Cookery in honor of today's feast of St. Maurice!

September 22: Feast Day of St. Maurice

During a tour of the Cathedral of Sts. Catherine and Maurice in Magdeburg, Germany, Islander and her friends Lisa and John L. noticed a rare dark, stocky statue that stood out from among the other Anglo-Saxon images in the church. It was of St. Maurice himself, a Christian knight from North Africa, and the statue is reputed to be the earliest icon of him in existence (circa 1240 A.D.). According to Wikipedia, “The Cathedral of Magdeburg is the first and oldest standing temple honoring the life of St. Maurice. When the new cathedral was built under Archbishop Albert II of Käfernberg (served 1205-32), the relic said to be the head of Maurice was procured from the Holy Land.”

We are glad that there is a display of cultural diversity in the church! And Islander feels privileged to have been able to see St. Maurice’s unique statue in Magdeburg, Germany.

In observance of his feast day, we cooked Curried Veal St. Moritz. The author of the cookbook from which we adapted the recipe notes that the dish came from a hotel in St. Moritz, Switzerland, a resort town named after the saint. He wrote: “The chef who originated it presented it as an entry in the Culinary Olympics of 1960. This recipe was so special it was awarded a gold medal.”

Recipe

(Adapted from Cooking with the Saints by Ernst Schuegraf)

Ingredients

• 1 ½ pounds veal scallops
• 1 cup onion, finely chopped
• pinch of garlic salt
• 4 tablespoons butter, divided
• 2 tablespoons curry powder
• 2 tablespoons cornstarch
• 3 cups chicken stock
• salt and pepper to taste
• 4 tablespoons white wine

Directions

Slice the veal thinly and into bite-sized pieces. Season with salt and pepper. Sauté in two tablespoons of butter until lightly browned on both sides. Transfer to the bottom of a baking dish with a lid. Next, make the sauce. Sauté the onions in two tablespoons of butter and add a pinch of garlic salt. Stir in the curry powder and corn starch and mix until well blended.

Slowly pour in the chicken stock over the onion mix and stir until slightly thickened. Add salt, pepper and wine to the sauce. Pour over the veal in the baking dish. Cover with the lid and bake in a preheated oven at 325 degrees F for about an hour. Remove from the oven. Garnish with cilantro and serve with rice (optional).