I know for a lot of people, they wouldn’t ever consider eating veal. This is due to the horrific conditions that veal used to be reared in back in the 80’s & 90’s, which meant that veal massively fell out of favour with the British public as it was considered cruel to eat it.  Even now, veal only accounts for 0.14% of beef production in the UK. 

There is  product in the UK now called ‘rose veal’. Calves reared for rose veal have good living conditions and the muscles of the calves are better developed, giving the meat a darker pink colour (hence the name ‘rose’).

The calves reared for rose veal are a product of the dairy industry – i.e. they are the calves that the pregnant cows who produce milk give birth to. However, due to the lack of appetite in the UK for veal, only 50% of male calves are used for veal; the others are shot at birth. 

What I was thinking about while eating this dish was – Is the answer to this problem to push the production and consumption of rose veal in the UK? It would support British farming and reduce the waste of 50% of the male dairy calves. 

OR, is the answer to reduce our dairy consumption, thereby reducing the amount of calves? Dairy is by far the most environmentally destructive of all the milks, so much so that our household recently switched to oat milk and I don’t see us switching back. I don’t live a dairy free lifestyle, but I couldn’t ignore the stats on milk production, when switching was so easy. 

Food for thought.

Anyway, back to the recipe! I was drawn to it because it wasn’t the usual ‘spaghetti and meatballs’ recipe. I love the addition of anchovies into the recipe, which add some deep savouriness. 

Serves 6

Ingredients

• 500g veal mince
• 3 eggs (1 raw, 2 hard boiled and finely chopped)
• small bunch parsley, finely chopped
• 100g gruyere, grated
• 3 anchovies, finely chopped
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 3 tbsp plain flour

Garlic cream

• 2 egg yolks
• 150 ml olive oil
• 1 lemon, juiced
• 1 clove garlic, crushed

Instructions

1. To make the garlic cream, put the egg yolks in a food processor and with the motor on low, slowly drizzle in 150ml olive oil until you have a mayo like consistency. Stir in the lemon juice and the garlic and season. Chill until needed.
2. In a large bowl, combine the veal, raw egg, parsley and cheese. In a separate bowl, combine the hard boiled eggs, anchovies and cumin. Season and mix well.
3. Take a tbsp of the veal mixture and shape into a ball. Then with a finger, make an indentation in the centre and fill with the egg and anchovy mix. Close up the meatball, then roll in the flour.
4. In a non stick pan, heat some olive oil and cook the meatballs for 10 mins on a medium heat until browned and cooked through. Serve with the chilled garlic cream.