When was the last time you tried something new? Food-wise of course! As parents, we often ask our kids to try new things, new food, even activities. We ask them to do things that they may not be comfortable doing, but are we listening to our own preaching? Speaking for myself, I know that I may not always follow what I ask my children to do. So, it's only natural that they follow our behavior rather than listening to our words.
I ask my son to try new food all the time. Mind you, the stuff I ask him to try is not out of norm in anyway! It could be a Persian rice dish mixed with small pieces of meat and even tinier pieces of green beans and tomato sauce (AKA "loobia polo"). The first thing he does, inspects it with his eyes, then he starts detecting all the greens and pushes them to the side of his plate as he explains "I don't like the green stuff." I don't want to bore you with another non-eating toddler story, but you get my point. He doesn't even try the stuff to figure out whether he likes it or not - he simply looks at it and then decides that he doesn't like it and that there's no way he would even try to put a spoonful in his mouth.
We are the over-size version of our kids believe it or not. We too go by the visual appearance of the stuff that we eat. I remember the first time I tried fried calamari, I was 13 years old visiting my father during a summer vacation in California. He owned a restaurant back then, so naturally we spent a lot of time there. If it were up to me, I wanted to have a cheese burger sandwich with fries everyday, but one day my father introduced a new dish for my lunch. He brought the plate out of the kitchen. It looked so pretty... they were fried up pieces of something and a side of a marinara sauce with lemon wedges. I asked what it was and he didn't exactly explain what, but insisted that I should try one. I must admit that those calamaris were so tasty that I couldn't stop myself. After I was done, it was when he explained what exactly I had had. I couldn't believe it and deep down I was kind of proud of myself for trying something new and even liking it. I am now hooked on calamaris and secretly on a mission to find the best ones out there.... Still searching ;-)
Back to the topic... Yes, I made a tongue sandwich and it was so tasty - you should try it sometime. It's happened often when we go grocery shopping and see odd things as we are searching for a piece of meat, rack of ribs and so forth. I was so excited to have found a veal tongue packaged in the meat section of my grocery aisle. It took me back to my childhood when my mother would come home from the butcher shop with a bag of veal tongues for our next party. She made this dish often at her parties that we almost never had any leftover. She often served it with roasted or steamed seasonal vegetables. I also remember when I was a high school student, there was this semi-fancy sandwich shop where they would serve a tongue sandwich on a baguette, side of potato chips and a soda. This place used to have a long line outside with people waiting for this yummy sandwich.
I learned to prepare tongue from my mother. She didn't follow a recipe book or a note that I can recall and my version of it is what I had remembered as a teenager while doing my homework at the kitchen table and watching my mother cook. I have tried it several times and I think I finally nailed it with the right amount of spices.
I must tell you that the veal tongue is not smelly or gamey. Don't get intimidated by its look. It is however a tough meat and I recall that my mother used a pressure cooker. I created a recipe that you can do without the pressure cooker.
Veal Tongue Sandwich
1 veal tongue – about 1 lb
2 large bay leaves
½ teaspoon whole peppercorn
3 cups of water
½ cup diced onion – about 1 small onion
1 tablespoon butter
½ teaspoon sea salt
¼ teaspoon fresh ground pepper
1 clove of garlic crushed – 1 teaspoon
¼ teaspoon paprika powder
¼ teaspoon turmeric powder
¼ teaspoon saffron
1-15 oz can of tomato sauce
¼ teaspoon herb de province
1 teaspoon fresh squeezed lemon juice
Wash and clean the tongue. Cut the extra fat at the end of the tongue. Put in a medium pot. Add water, bay leaves and peppercorn. Poach it on a low-medium heat for about 1 hr. Take off the heat and let it cool a little. Set aside the poach water while discarding the bay leaves and the peppercorns.
Meanwhile, dice the onion and sauté in butter with salt and pepper. Add the crushed garlic and sauté some more. Add paprika, turmeric and saffron. Add a little of the poach water if needed. Add the tomato sauce and the poach water then mix well. Bring to a simmer then add herb de province and lemon juice.
Peel the skin from the tongue and discard. Slice the tongue about ½ inch thick and add to the simmering sauce. Cover and let it simmer on a low heat for about 2 hours until the sauce has reduced by half and the tongue has become very tender.
Veal Tongue Stew
I made ourselves a sandwich and served it with a side of its sauce (to dip in).
Veal Tongue Sandwich
This dish will go greatly with a watercress salad dressed in a lemon vinaigrette (I couldn't find any watercress around my neighborhood!). You can also serve it as a dish either a stew style with roasted croutons or slices of tongue with roasted seasonal vegetables. I promise you that it's a very delicious dish and once you get over the fact that it's a tongue, you will really enjoy it.
Happy Monday, everyone!
