Veal Gravy Tomaté

Jus de veau tomaté (veal gravy with tomato) teaches reduction in its cleanest form. Veal stock supplies body, tomato purée and juice bring acidity and ruddy color, and the pan removes exactly one fifth. That measured loss is the one true thing to know before touching the heat: this gravy should flow and lightly glaze meat, not cook down until it stands like a paste.

The printed formula belonged to a working sauce kitchen with a saucier on staff, veal stock never off the fire, and linen ready for straining. A salamander has no part in this preparation, so there is nothing to mimic under the home broiler. A wide saucepan, finished unsalted stock, and damp cheesecloth do the same work; the quantities are multiplied evenly to make about two quarts, enough for several suppers and sensible portions for the freezer. One cook, one stove, one evening.

The staff and perpetual stockpot were brigade scaffolding, and they can go. The veal-stock foundation, the book's proportions, the one-fifth reduction, and the gentle linen pass are the dish, so they stay. Mark the starting volume before you heat it, then stop when one fifth is gone. If you pass the mark, ça se rattrape, and the method restores exactly what escaped.