Rose veal – er, what is it exactly?

First things first. What exactly is rose veal? Well, I wasn’t sure so I did a bit of Googling, as one does, and discovered an article by Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall who says: “In the past few years, there’s been a growing interest in high-welfare rose veal in this country, and I for one am glad of it. Calves live in small groups, with deep straw bedding and access to a varied diet that leads to their distinctive pink meat; in free-range or organic production, they’re also given access to outdoor grazing. The animals are killed at around six months old, roughly the same age as most pigs or sheep slaughtered for pork and lamb.” To read more and for three other rose veal recipes, click here. Reassured that British (not European) rose veal has already won the ethical stamp of approval from the RSPCA and Compassion in World Farming (CIWF), I bought some and it was slightly pink, full of protein and has a lovely flavour.

ROSE VEAL ESCALOPES

Ingredients serves 2-4
• 4 lean veal escalopes
• 50g/2oz freshly grated Parmesan or cheddar cheese
• 4 fresh sage leaves, finely chopped
• 25g/1oz fresh white breadcrumbs (or chunky ready to use version)
• Salt and freshly milled black pepper
• 50g/2oz plain flour
• 2 egg whites, beaten
• 15ml/1tbsp olive or rapeseed oil
• 15g/½oz butter

How to prepare
1. Mix the breadcrumbs, sage and cheese on a shallow plate.
2. Season the veal and dust in the flour, then the egg white, then the cheese mixture.
3. Heat the oil and butter in a large non-stick frying pan and cook the veal for 2-3 minutes on each side until golden.
4. Serve with a dark green vegetable of your choice and lemon wedges (oh alright then, and a few sauteed potatoes sprinkled with flaky sea salt)