For Zurich-style veal ragout, tender veal – often from the loin or topside – is cut into fine, short strips. The classic Zurich version also includes veal kidney, though many restaurants today offer the meat-only variant. The veal is seared briefly and hard in hot butter or cooking butter, in batches, so it stays pink and juicy inside, then set aside.
In the same pan, finely chopped shallots and button mushrooms are sweated, deglazed with white wine and reduced with cream into a smooth sauce. A squeeze of lemon and a little veal stock round it off. Only at the end does the seared meat, together with its released juices, go back into the sauce and is merely heated through, not boiled – this keeps it tender. It is important not to leave the meat in the sauce too long, or it turns tough.
The dish comes from the city of Zurich and, as 'Zürcher Geschnetzeltes with rösti', is known far beyond the region. The crisp rösti soaks up the creamy sauce and forms the classic counterpart to the tender meat. It is a hearty lunch or dinner and features year-round on the menus of many traditional Zurich restaurants. In a restaurant it is prepared à la minute and takes only a few minutes.
What to look for: good veal should be pink and tender, the sauce pale and not too thick. If veal kidney is included, this is usually noted on the menu – if you dislike it, ask for the meat-only version. Occasionally pasta or rice is served instead of rösti, but rösti is regarded as the authentic side.
As a main course with rösti, Zurich-style veal ragout costs roughly CHF 32 to 48 in a Swiss restaurant depending on location and quality, and more in upmarket Zurich venues (guide price, no guarantee).