AI-generated image
Fricandó
Fricandó: Catalan braised veal with wild moixernon mushrooms and picada
Fricandó is the dish that Barcelona grandmothers cook for a family Sunday or a saint's day: thin slices of veal, floured and browned, then braised slowly in a dark sofrito with dried moixernons, the spring St George's mushroom, and finished with a picada of almonds and hazelnuts. It is better reheated the next day. Dried porcini or mixed wild mushrooms work if you cannot find moixernons. The recipe uses wine; the alcohol-free option is in the ingredient list. Chef's tip: cook the onions until truly dark, almost jammy; that deep brown sofrito is where the sauce gets its colour and sweetness.
- Total time
- 130 min
- Difficulty
- medium
- Serves
- 4
Ingredients
For the picada
Shop this recipe on Amazon
Spices & pantry
Fresh ingredients (4)
Links open Amazon in a new tab. As an Amazon Associate, WhatToEat.Today earns from qualifying purchases.
Method
0/8 doneStep 1: Soak 1 oz dried moixernons or other dried wild mushrooms in 300 ml warm water for 30 minutes. Lift them out and rinse off any grit; strain and keep the soaking water.
30 minStep 2: Season 1 ½ lb veal topside with 1 tsp salt and dust with 1 ⅜ oz plain flour, shaking off the excess.
Step 3: Heat ¼ cup olive oil in a casserole over a medium-high heat and brown the veal in batches for 1–2 minutes a side, until golden. Lift onto a plate.
8 minStep 4: Lower the heat, add 2 onions and cook gently for 20–25 minutes, stirring often and adding a splash of water if it catches, until dark golden-brown and jammy.
25 minStep 5: Add 2 ripe tomatoes and cook for 10 minutes until the sofrito is thick and almost dry. Pour in ½ cup dry white wine and bubble for 2 minutes until the smell of alcohol has gone.
12 minStep 6: Return the veal with 1 ¾ cups beef or chicken stock, the mushroom water, 1 bay leaf and 2 sprigs fresh thyme. Cover and simmer gently for 45 minutes.
45 minStep 7: Pound ½ oz blanched almonds, ½ oz hazelnuts, 2 cloves garlic and 2 tbsp flat-leaf parsley into a paste. Stir it into the casserole with the mushrooms and simmer for 10–15 minutes more, until the veal is tender enough to cut with a spoon and the sauce coats it thickly. A common mistake is boiling it hard: the thin slices turn stringy.
15 minStep 8: Remove the bay and thyme and serve with bread or mashed potatoes.
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 470 kcal
- Protein
- 43 g
- Carbs
- 18 g
- Fat
- 25 g
- Fibre
- 3 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does fricandó take?
- About 130 minutes in total: 30 minutes to prepare and 100 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 4 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Can I make it ahead?
- Yes. It keeps well, so you can cook it earlier in the day or the day before and reheat it.
- What can I use instead of dried moixernons or other dried wild mushrooms?
- Aubergine, diced, same weight.
- What can I use instead of plain flour?
- Self-raising flour, same amount (then leave out the baking powder).
Reviews
No reviews yet. Be the first to cook it.
Rate this recipe
Sign in to rate and review this recipe.
You might also like
Pork souvlaki
This is a pork recipe. Walk through any Greek town after dark, from Athens to Thessaloniki, and the smell of souvlaki stands drifts down the street; cubes of pork shoulder grilled on thin skewers are the country's favourite cheap supper, eaten standing up or at a plastic-table taverna. At home you marinate the meat in lemon, olive oil, garlic and dried oregano, grill it hard and fast, and pile it on warm pitta with tzatziki, tomato and red onion. Chef's tip: cut the pork into even 2.5 cm cubes and leave a little fat on; lean loin dries out, shoulder stays juicy over high heat.
Greek
Horchata de chufa
Horchata de chufa is the drink of Valencia's summer, sold ice-cold in the city's horchaterías with long, soft fartons pastries for dipping. It is made from chufas, or tiger nuts: small wrinkled tubers grown around the village of Alboraya just north of Valencia, which have their own protected designation of origin. Soaked, ground with water, strained and sweetened, they give a creamy, nutty, naturally dairy-free milk with a hint of cinnamon. Valencians drink it very cold, or half-frozen as 'granizada'. Chef's tip: soak the tiger nuts for a full 24 hours and change the water once; they must be plump and soft enough to blend into a fine pulp, or the horchata will be thin and taste of raw starch.
Tteokgalbi
Tteokgalbi is rib meat chopped finely, pressed back into neat slabs and grilled, so it's soft enough to eat without struggling with a bone. Two places in South Jeolla claim it: Damyang, the bamboo county, where all-beef patties come with rice steamed in bamboo tubes, and Gwangju's Songjeong district, whose restaurant street near the railway station mixes beef with pork. This home version uses minced beef and pork, seasoned with soy, garlic and pear, then brushed with a soy and honey glaze as it cooks. Serve with rice, lettuce and a few banchan; leftovers are good cold in a lunchbox. Chef's tip: slap the mince against the bowl for a few minutes; it turns sticky and the patties hold together on the grill without any breadcrumbs.
Korean