My grandfather was Swiss. Did I already tell you that? If not – now you know it. So I’m a good quarter Swiss. In the household of my grandma there lived her unmarried sister Elisabeth. „Aunt Lisa,“ we called her. Both ladies were less powerful in cooking and that’s why they had a housemaid. Gisela. „Auntie“ Gisela, as we kids called her. And she could – „Wohooo“ – cook!
Aunty Gisela’s Zuricher Ragout
Aunt Gisela could cook like a goddess! If the house blessing hung crooked, if we argued again within the family – and reconciliation was needed – there was „Zürcher Geschnetzeltes“. This dish brought all family members back to one table.
Who could or did not want to live without the original Zuricher Ragout made from Gisela? When the phone rang and Granny said, „Sunday is Zürcher. Twelve! „, every family break was secondary. From far and wide, the whole clan came to the old villa of my grandparents.
That is now decades ago. I was still a child. My grandmas and the aunts don’t live anymore. What was left to me is this recipe from the Original Zuricher Ragout.
Because the world seems so divided today I sometimes wish everyone would sit down at a table again, I’ll get away with it. With the recipe of reconciliation. The Original Zuricher Ragout.
Maybe this recipe might also help you to calm down any dispute or quarrel. With a full stomach, it’s always better chatting. Above all, with this traditional Swiss dish.
Recipe Zuricher Ragout:
Ingredients for four people:
For the meat:
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1 tablespoon flour
- 1 pinch of salt and pepper
- 400 g. Veal from the nut
- 200 g. Veal kidneys
For the sauce:
- 3 tablespoons veal stock (available in glass)
- 1-2 tablespoons butter
- 250 g. Mushrooms
- 1 tbsp. cornstoarch
- 200 ml. cream (whipped cream)
- 100 ml dry white wine (Riesling or similar)
- 1 lemon
- 1 small onion or 2 shallots
Preparation:
If the Butcher has not already cleaned the veal kidneys, you should remove the white fat so far free as possible. The dark kidneys and a little bit of the fat layer, which one does not get rid of anyway, should stay over. Cut the kidneys into fine tender strips.
The veal as well, cut into very thin strips. Chop the onion in very small cubes, or chop the shallots accordingly.
Clean the mushrooms from the stems and cut into thin slices. Mix them with a few splashes of lemon juice. So that the mushroom does not turn brown and it stays nice and white.
Let’s go
Heat the butter gently in a high pan and add a tablespoon of flour. Then a pinch of salt and pepper follow. Now fry the kidneys and the veal in portions, until browned, and then wrap it into a tin foil.
Put them in the preheated oven at 60 degrees (140 F.) so that it keeps warm.
The Sauce
You can use the same pan again, just clean it with household paper. Add more butter and sweat the onions until they are glassy. Then the mushrooms need to be added. Once the amount you need is reduced, add the wine and let it almost completely evaporate. Then you need to fill in the veal stock and cream.
In a little Cup now you mix 1 tsp of Maizena and 3 tsp of very cold water together. Let the sauce boil briefly and add this mixture in it to bind. Stir well, boil briefly. The sauce will get thick now if you made it right.
In the end, the warm meat comes in. Let it simmer over low heat for about 5 minutes with the sauce. Now you can flavor it with salt, pepper and lemon juice. You can decorate it with a little bit of parsley. Just for the look.
Traditional Zurich Ragout is served with swiss hash browns. But it’s no big fault if you serve egg noodles (or spaetzle ) with it. A nice green Salad is also a fine addition.
I wish you a good appetite!
