One of My Favourite Meals

One of my favourite restaurants in Melbourne is an iconic italian restaurant called Grossi Florentino owned by the Grossi family.  It has three restaurants as part of it...The Restaurant, The Grill and the Cellar Bar. I have been to The Restaurant and The Grill which are more upmarket for special occasions but frequent the Cellar Bar more regularly (more casual, don't have to book).  I always order the same meal, veal with fontina cheese and mashed potatoes followed by their tiramisu.  The hospitality is so warm and inviting..yesterday when I went in for a coffee I noticed the waiter seemed to know everyone's name that came through the door.  He was so friendly to me when I paid my bill, I left feeling so uplifted.  That is what real hospitality is all about and why I love the italian way of living and eating so much.

This is my recreation of the veal dish....I washed it down with a nice glass of Chianti.  Guy Grossi has just released a book "Recipes From My Mothers Kitchen" which I'll do a review of on Monday.

“A Restaurant is the sum of many parts, like a home! It is not so much about the walls but more about the people those walls house”. ~ Guy Grossi. 

How To Make It

Buy some veal scaloppini from the butcher and have them pound it out (not to thin).  Prepare your crumbing set... first bowl: flour seasoned with salt and pepper, second bowl: whisked egg, third bowl: breadcrumbs (you can use boxed breadcrumbs, japanese panko breadcrumbs or do what I do blitz your own in the food processor with a few slices of bread then add some grated parmesan cheese and salt & pepper to this.

Place slices of fontina cheese on top of veal slices then crumb..dip in flour then egg then breadcrumbs (it can be a little tricky with the cheese but if you place the veal in the bowl and use your fingers to coat the top as you go along the process you wont have to turn it over and risk having your cheese fall off.)
Hope this makes sense!!!

When done you can refrigerate to firm up crumbs or heat some oil and butter in a pan and fry until golden brown and cooked through (you can always finish it off in the oven after you have cooked your first side.)  Serve with mashed potatoes and a lemon wedge and a spinach salad if you want to add some greenery.  Baby spinach dressed with olive oil, sea salt & pepper and a splash of balsamic, red wine or white wine vinegar.

If anybody has any questions about this one don't hesitate to shoot me an email..I love hearing from everybody.

My 14yo daughter couldn't wait for dinner as soon as I'd finished photographing this dish she cleaned the plate because it was so yummy.

Catherine x