Serves 4 to 6

Eggs also come in handy to enrich a sauce, as in this classic stew. The yolks are beaten with cream and then mixed with a ladleful of the sauce. The mixture is then added to the rest of the sauce and reheated gently until the sauce thickens to a velvety texture. British rosé veal, by the way, is from humanely reared UK dairy cattle that would otherwise be exported to produce continental white veal.

1 litre veal or chicken stock
Zest and juice of 1½ lemons
2 rosemary sprigs
2 bay leaves
½ tsp white peppercorns
½ tsp coriander seeds
2 large carrots, peeled and chopped
2 leeks, trimmed and chopped
3 sticks of celery, chopped
1 head of garlic, halved
1kg boneless shoulder of rosé veal
250g chestnut mushrooms, sliced
2 large egg yolks
200ml double cream
1-2 tsp dijon mustard
Large handful of flat-leaf parsley, chopped
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 Pour the stock into a large pan. Add 2 strips of lemon zest and the juice of 1 lemon to the stock. Stir in the herbs, spices and all the vegetables (apart from the mushrooms) and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat and simmer uncovered for 10 minutes.

2 Trim any excess fat from the veal and cut into 5cm chunks. Add the veal and mushrooms to the pan, return to a simmer and cook gently for 1-1½ hours, until the meat is tender. Strain the liquid through a sieve into a clean pan.

3 Skim off any fat from the liquid. If you have more than 400ml, reduce rapidly by boiling, then leave to cool for 5 minutes. Pick out the zest, garlic, rosemary and bay leaves. Put the meat and vegetables in an ovenproof dish and keep warm in a low oven covered with foil.

4 Mix the egg yolks and cream together in a jug. Add a ladleful of sauce, mix well then gradually stir this mixture into the rest of the sauce. Reheat gently, stirring continually, until the yolks have thickened the sauce to the consistency of double cream. Do not boil or the eggs will scramble.

5 Adjust the flavour of the sauce with mustard, lemon juice and seasoning to taste. Stir through half of the parsley, then pour the sauce over the meat and vegetables. Finely grate a little lemon zest over the top and sprinkle with the remaining parsley. Serve with buttered boiled potatoes or tagliatelle.

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