Well it’s been a time of domestic chores and family stuff. I happened to find myself in Ascot this week waiting for family members to have various bits prodded & examined at the local hospital. Ascot is home to one of the best buthchers in the UK if not the world.
Allow me to introduce CE Lewis of Ascot .
UKTV.co.uk says -
“This traditional butcher’s shop was established almost 30 years ago and offers it customers a range of local, regional and national produce. The beef is sourced from Scotland, pork from surrey, lamb from Devon and the turkeys are local. Also on offer is a range of home made sausages including the pork and herb variety, pork and leek, duck, orange and turkey and a gluten free option. C E Lewis also produces its own burgers and kebabs and is known to go the extra mile in order to satisfy a customers needs.”
And go the extra mile they do. I was after some of their excellent calves liver and in addition to this was offered both veal chops and escalopes.
Now some people , my father-in-law who was with me when I bought it, dislikes veal and is of the opinion that it is a cruel meat forced fed oil by our continental cousins. This is not the case. The Independent on-line says -
“Veal shouldn’t be a dirty word,” said Rowen West-Henzell, food business manager for CIWF. “There is a process of re-education that needs to occur. British rose veal is something we are happy to endorse.”
High-welfare veal is known as rose veal, as calves are not fed the restricted, low-iron diet that is needed to produce the traditional white veal meat.
Veal – which comes from the meat of calves between six and eight months old – is widely eaten in the Netherlands, Germany, France and Italy, but currently has a limited market in the UK.
I bought the veal along with calves liver , sweetbreads, pork & herb sausage, tripe and lambs kidneys. All of the meat was prepared beautifully and even the kidneys were cored and frozen in lovely neat rows.
Having had two of the excellent sausages for supper last night to I wanted to try the veal chop for my lunch. I had discussed with owner about how to cook the chop and I was to treat it just like like a steak, hot pan, some butter and, as I have a glut of sage, an handful of sage leaves.
veal chop cooking
I heated pan until hot and added a knob of butter and half the sage leaves. Added the chop and cooked for 3-4 minutes and turned it over (see right). Cooked the other side for the same amount and remove from heat and rest for 5 minutes.
During the resting period I made up a simple salad of fresh spinach, beansprouts, tomato and onion and served.
The meat was fantastic. Slightly pink in the middle. Almost a cross between pork & beef.
I can’t wait to try the rest of the meat that I bought and a big part of me wishes that more shop owners, not just food, could be as helpful and knowledgable about what they sell.
We must support our local traders and encourage quality where and when ever we can.
Veal chop and salad
