12ozbeef or veal top round cut into thin cutlets, see note
½cupwhite flour for dredging and browning the cutlets
1qtsaffron milk capssee note
1cupchopped tomatoespeeled and seeded
1cupdiced sweet yellow onion
½cupdiced carrots
3.5cupswater
Salt and pepper to taste
Tasteless oil for cookinglike grapeseed or canola
Picada
¼cuploosely packed Italian flat leaf parsley
1cloveof garlicabout the size of a nickel
⅛cuptoasted marcona almonds
Instructions
Begin by getting a wide saute pan (a 10" will do) hot and adding oil, season all the cutlets with salt and pepper on one side only (to prevent over seasoning). Dust each cutlet in flour, tapping off any excess, and then cook until nicely browned on both sides, about ten minutes.
You may need to work in batches if you have a small pan, just remove the browned cutlets, add some additional oil to the pan, and repeat until all the cutlets are browned. When the cutlets are browned, add the vegetables to the pan the meat was cooked in and saute for a few minutes, making sure the bottom of the pan and the meat drippings do not burn.
Add the water and scrape the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon to remove the drippings. Put a lid on the pan so too much water doesn't evaporate and cook until the vegetables are very tender, about 10-15 minutes
While the veggies cook, prepare the picada: chop the parsley, garlic, and toasted marcona almonds until very fine, set aside and reserve. When the vegetabes are soft, transfer them and their liquid to a blender and buzz on high until the mixture is smooth and creamy.
Get a big saute pan and add some oil, heat until hot and then add the mushrooms. Cook the mushrooms for about 5 minutes until they have taken on some color and are golden brown, cooking on medium high heat. When the mushrooms are nicely caramelized, return the beef and the pureed sauce to the pan, cover with a lid cook this for another 20-30 minutes until the meat is very tender.
When the sauce has thickened and the meat is tender, add the picada and cook for 2 minutes, then finally check your seasoning for salt and pepper if needed and serve. Some plain rice, (or saffron rice) would be great with this.
Notes
Meat substitutes
You can also use pork or beef loin, sliced thinly into cutlets, about ¼ inch, if you want to use chicken breasts, slice skinless breasts on a bias to create thin slices.
Mushrooms
The mushrooms can be sliced in half if medium sized, whole if small buttons, or quartered or cut into ⅙ths if very large