“Jet Lag”, veal mignonettes

A few nights ago we watched “[Jet Lag][]”, starring Juliette Binoche and Jean Reno. With those two in the leading roles my expectations were pretty high for this movie, perhaps too high. It was decent, worth watching, and the score (by Eric Serra, who also did “[Subway][]”) was pretty good. But the real reason for this blog post is the recipe that was tucked into the credits, Veal Mignonettes. This is the dish that Félix (Jean Reno) prepares for Rose (Juliette Binoche) near the end of the movie.

> Veal Mignonettes (serves 2)
>
> – 3/4 lb veal
> – 1/2 lb carrots
> – 4 small zucchini
> – 6 tomatoes
> – 2 leeks (white part only)
> – flat-leaf parsley
> – pepper
> – coarse salt
> – 1 Tbsp olive oil
> – armagnac (cognac?)
> – 1 tsp balsamic vinegar
> – 1 pinch sesame seed
>
> Cut the veal into 1-inch slices. Julienne the vegetables.
> Heat olive oil in a skillet and saute the vegetables over low heat until al-dente, about 5 minutes.
> Add a pinch of coarse salt, the parsley, and pepper.
>
> Remove the vegetables from the pan, add the veal and armagnac (~1 Tbsp?) and flambé for about 1 minute.
> Return to the burner and add a pinch of sesame seeds and the balsamic vinegar. Serve with the al-dente vegetables.

There were some errors in the recipe which I’ve done my best to correct. For instance, the veal and carrots were given in “ld”, which I presume was supposed to be “lb”. Also, the armagnac is never referred to in the instructions. A 1-inch thick slice of veal seems a bit much — in the movie, it looks more like 1/2 or 3/4 inch.

I’ve never been successful with flambé. For some reason the pan never lights for me. Anybody have a suggestion as to what I might be doing wrong?

[Jet Lag]: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0293116/ “‘Jet Lag’ on IMDB”
[Subway]: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0090095/ “‘Subway’ on IMDB”

About Jim Vanderveen

I'm a bit of a Renaissance man, with far too many hobbies for my free time! But more important than any hobby is my family. My proudest accomplishment has been raising some great kids! And somehow convincing my wife to put up with me since 1988. ;)
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3 Responses to “Jet Lag”, veal mignonettes

  1. frederick says:

    thanks for the recipie–I was going to go through the film again and copy it longhand. I used Calvados (another powerful French brandy, pear based) and it flamed beautifully. The pan must be VERY hot–I think that’s the problem. It needs to vaporize the alcohol immediatly and quickly-you should hear a lot of sizzle. And you need to light it quickly. Mefiez-vous, monseiur, it goes off with a vengeance!

  2. frederick says:

    I noticed a couple of issues. I did the recipe with a 3/4″ thick filet mignon. Rememebr when you slice the meat it’s not like cutting a London Broil, but more like the slices being thick handcut bread slices. Put the meat in the pan (with a pat of butter first–hot enough to bubble) and sear then flip for 2-3 min. longer for rare. At THAT point (when it’s cooked as much as you like) splash in the Armagnac or whatever (I wonder how Slivowitz (plum derived)would taste?). Remove the meat and place on warm plates. Scrape the pan quickly to get up the bits, add a touch of water if/as necessary, and quickly stir in a TSB of instant-dissolving flour. Mix and pour over the meat. This isn’t unlike, after all, making biftek au poivre. I kept the vegetables warm in a stainless mixing bowl on the simmer burner of the stove at its very lowest level–put them on the plate now. And have better bread than he apparantly did in the hotel room scene!

  3. Jim says:

    Thanks for your advice, Frederick! The flambé was amazing, almost dangerous! 🙂 And this recipe definitely needs good bread.

    My wife and I made this last night, and it seemed like a *lot* of vegetables!

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