Veal Cutlets with Curry Pears
By Emma
Certified Culinary Professional
•
Recipe tested & approved
Veal cutlets dusted with a lightly spiced curry-flour blend, pan-seared till golden and juicy. Paired with softly sautéed firm pears and onions reduced in white wine, finished with rich cream and fresh parsley. Served over al dente fettucine tossed in olive oil, this dish balances savory and sweet with gentle spice. Swap veal for pork if needed, and adjust cream for lighter options. Timing guided by sizzle, smell, and color rather than clock. Incorporates a twist of ginger replacing traditional curry powder, adding warmth and zest.
Prep:
25 min
Cook:
12 min
Total:
37 min
Servings:
4 servings
#French-inspired
#veal
#curry
#pear Sauce
#ginger
#pan-seared
#white wine cream
You’ve tried veal schnitzel and pear desserts separately but here they collide under curry’s mild heat. Not your heavy-handed curry, more of a whisper that nudges fruit and flesh. I ditched traditional curry powder years ago after drying out cutlets; ginger’s punch brings freshness, less bitterness. Fat from butter and olive oil create crunch on veal, juicy bite beneath. Pears here aren’t stew-soft but tender enough to melt into wine cream reduction– a balance I insist on to avoid mush. Cooking times aren’t sacred; watch soup-like sizzle, shiny meat surfaces, and when cream clings to the pan rim. That’s the ceremony that counts.
Ingredients
- 230 g (about 1/2 lb) veal cutlets
- fresh fettucine
- 55 ml (3 1/2 tbsp) flour
- 10 ml (2 tsp) ground ginger
- 4 large veal cutlets
- 30 ml (2 tbsp) olive oil
- 25 ml (1 1/2 tbsp) butter
- 1 onion, finely chopped
- 2 firm ripe pears, peeled, cored, sliced
- 220 ml (just under 1 cup) dry white wine
- 70 ml (close to 1/3 cup) 35% cream
- 15 ml (1 tbsp) chopped flat-leaf parsley
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
About the ingredients
Veal cutlets work best fresh and thin; thicker slabs demand longer cooking that dries meat out. Substitute pork loin thinly sliced if veal is scarce - similar texture and flavor balance. Flour must be sifted or well mixed with spice to avoid lumps that stick and burn. Replacing curry powder with ground ginger shifts flavor from earthy to bright; fresh ginger is great too but grated directly into cream at end for punch. Olive oil and butter in tandem stabilizes cooking fat temperature and adds depth in sauce. Pear variety matters — Anjou or Bosc hold up well without turning to mush, but any firm ripe pear is fair game. White wine choice should be dry to lift sweetness without muddling richness. Parsley chopped fresh—not dried—adds vital fresh green notes and color contrast.
Method
- Boil salted water. Toss fettucine in once rolling. Watch closely; cook till body resists slight bite — al dente. Drain, drizzle olive oil lightly to separate strands. Set aside warm but not hot.
- Mix flour with ground ginger. This replaces traditional curry powder with fresher spice notes. Season cutlets with salt, pepper. Dredge evenly in the ginger-flour blend. Clumps wreck crust; sift or shake off excess.
- Heat olive oil and butter in heavy skillet over medium-high. Wait till butter foams then sinks, oil just shimmering. Lay in cutlets two at a time - don’t crowd the pan or moisture clogs sear. Listen – a steady sizzle means proper temp. One minute each side till golden; edges will lift cleanly. Cutlets still tender, juices clear. Salt and pepper while hot. Transfer to warm plate, keep loosely tented.
- Same pan, now flavored, add onions and pears. Stir, coat in pan fat. Pears soften but keep shape; onions translucent, edges just turning golden. Add a touch more butter if dry — pears absorb fat quickly. Salt, pepper to season.
- Splash white wine to deglaze. Sound shifts, spatters. Scrape up those deep browned bits — flavor gold here. Bring to boil, reduce until roughly half volume. Watch for syrupy gloss forming on pan bottom. Pour in cream, simmer gently. Sauce thickens slowly; you want spoon to coat but still flow. Taste, adjust salt and pepper.
- Nestle fettucine on warm plates thickly, top with cutlets. Spoon pear-onion sauce generously over. Sprinkle fresh parsley for bright end-note and visual lift. Finish with cracked black pepper over all.
- Serve immediately while cutlets still juicy, fettucine warm but no mush.
Cooking tips
Drawing out best flavor means paying attention to pan sounds and texture cues over timers. Fettucine must glide with bite; floppy strands indicate under/over cooking - fry briefly in olive oil to separate if needed but avoid overheating. Flour-spiced dusting ensures crust formation—don’t drown cutlets or pan will steam instead of fry. The fat shimmer check before searing avoids soggy meat surfaces. One minute each side cooks thin cutlets perfectly; look for edges pulling away naturally before flipping. Pear sauté signals through softening with slight caramel color, not mushiness. Deglazing wine pan means scraping all the sticky bits lest they burn – this is flavor base. Reduction intensity judged visually — halving volume till mixture thickens and clings, releasing aroma bursts at boil. Cream incorporation must be gentle heat, slow simmer, not boil full vigor or it splits. Final seasoning tweak after cream goes in lets you balance acid and sweetness dynamically. Presentation benefits from serving immediately when textures contrast and colors are vivid. Ensure parsley is added last for brightness, never cooked fully down. Pepper freshly cracked tops the dish for gentle sharpness zip.
Chef's notes
- 💡 Dust veal evenly with ginger-flour mix. Clumps kill crust; sift or shake off carefully before pan. Moisture ruins sear. Butter and olive oil heat slowly; wait for butter foam then it sinks, oil shimmers — perfect heat check. Flip cutlets only when edges lift clean; one minute each side usually works thin cuts. Overcrowding traps steam, no crispiness.
- 💡 Pears must be firm; Anjou or Bosc ideal. Soften with onions till translucent but keep shape. Watch edges for faint gold; too long means mush. Pears soak fat fast—add butter cautiously during sauté. Salt early then adjust after cream adds balance. White wine dry, not sweet, avoids muddling sauce flavor; deglaze by scraping browned bits aggressively for depth.
- 💡 Fettucine cooks until slight resistance on bite. Drain, drizzle olive oil to separate strands, keep warm but never hot. Overcooked pasta clumps badly even in oil. Sauce coating better with pasta slightly underdone. Cream added slowly to reduce splitting risk; simmer low, no rolling boil. Taste and tweak seasoning after cream to catch late acidity and sweetness shifts.
- 💡 Listen carefully during cooking. The sizzle steady and sharp signals pan temps right for searing. Butter foam then sink is heat marker. Wine reduction ready when syrupy gloss appears, volume halved; smells intensify. Texture cues in sauce critical — too thin runny, too thick sticky. Pear softness judged by shape retention; key to avoid fruit turning to mush in this dish.
- 💡 Substitute pork loin thin slices for veal if lacking; texture close enough, cooks similarly fast. Flour mix key avoid lumps; raw flour taste shows if undercooked. Ginger swaps usual curry powder here — lighter punch, less bitterness. Fresh ginger grated into cream at end boosts aroma without overpowering. Parsley always chopped fresh added last for color contrast and brightness; no dried herbs.
Common questions
Can I replace veal?
Pork loin thin sliced works well same cooking time. Different flavor but similar texture. Slightly milder than veal. Timing same mostly. Could try chicken but dries easy, need more care.
What if sauce separates?
Too hot cream or rapid boil cause split. Lower heat, slow simmer only. Stir gently. Add cream slowly. Sometimes add small cold butter piece to smooth. Avoid full boil after cream.
How to check doneness without timer?
Cutlet edges lift naturally when sear done. Juices clear not pink inside. Listen for steady sizzle no spitting. Pears soft but intact. Sauce thick enough to coat spoon but flow. Use senses not clocks.
Can leftovers be stored?
Cool quickly, store airtight fridge up to 2 days. Reheat gently to avoid drying veal or splitting sauce. Reheat pasta separate with splash olive oil or butter. Sauce can be reheated slowly on low, stirring. Freeze not ideal for cream sauce but possible short term.
