Paupiettes de veau (stuffed veal cutlets)

Another day, another French classic recipe.

Today, I present you with Paupiettes de veau. They are little parcels made of veal cutlets, stuffed with ground pork, veal and herbs. Paupiettes are one of my absolute favorite dishes, and I have such fond memories of my grandmother cooking them for us during our vacations. In France, they can be found ready made at the butcher's, however you really cannot find them outside of France. So I decided to make my own. They are very easy to prepare and delicious!

Try them! They will satisfy your taste buds and impress your guests ;)


INGREDIENTS (makes about 8 Paupiettes):
for the stuffing:
- 1lb boneless pork shoulder
- 1lb cubed veal shoulder
- 1/2 cup bread crumbs (I used Panko)
- 1 large onion and 2 cloves of garlic, finely diced
- 2 eggs
- 1 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped
- a few sprigs of fresh thyme (dried is fine too)
- 2 tbsp butter
other ingredients:
- 8 large thinly sliced veal cutlets (if they are small, buy more and you can piece them up to make them larger)
- 1/2 cup sour cream
- 1/2 cup white wine (I used pinot grigio)
- 1x 8oz cremini mushrooms


RECIPE:
- working in batches, grind the pork and veal shoulder meat with a food processor (or if you're lucky enough to have one, a meat grinder). DO NOT GRIND THE CUTLETS.

- reserve 1/4 of raw onion/garlic for later use. In a small skillet, melt half of the butter and saute about 3/4 of the onion/garlic mix until soft -not brown- over medium heat,.eserve for later.

- in a large bowl, combine the ground meat and the rest of the stuffing ingredients and mix well

- lay the cutlets flat on a clean surface and put a small handful of stuffing inside. Roll the cutlet around the stuffing and secure the parcels with cooking twine

- in a dutch oven, melt the remaining butter over medium-high heat, brown the Paupiettes on all sides and reserve in a plate

- saute the remaining onion/garlic mix in the same pan until soft, over medium heat. They will release moisture and that will deglaze the drippings from the pan. After 2 minutes, add teh sliced mushrooms and cook over medium-high heat until golden

- place the Paupiettes back on top of the mushrooms, add the wine and cook covered over medium-high heat for about 20 minutes

- after 20 minutes, remove the lid add the sour cream and cook for another 5 to 10 minutes, until thickened

- serve with white rice, a lot of sauce and a nice glass of white wine. You can also serve them with peas or green beans.

- Bon appetit!