Tête de Veau en Salade with Sauce Ravigote
Tête de veau — poached calf’s head — is the test of a serious French bistro. It appears on the menus of the great Parisian brasseries (Pharamond, Aux Ami Louis, Benoit) and in the Sunday cooking of French home kitchens in Normandy and the Loire. Alain Ducasse included it in his bistro collection as a dish that must not be lost. The calf’s head is poached in a court-bouillon until yielding and gelatinous, then served warm with a sharp, vivid sauce ravigote — an oil-and-vinegar sauce loaded with capers, cornichons, shallots, and herbs that cuts directly through the richness of the meat. Served as a composed salad over dressed greens with warm vinaigrette, it becomes one of the most satisfying things the French kitchen has produced.
Ingredients (serves 4)
| Ingredient | Amount |
|---|---|
| Calf’s head, boned and rolled (ask your butcher) | 1 kg piece |
| Veal tongue (optional, classic inclusion) | 1 small, about 400 g |
| Court-bouillon water | 3 litres |
| White wine | 250 ml |
| Carrot, halved | 2 |
| Onion, studded with 3 cloves | 1 |
| Celery stalks | 2 |
| Bouquet garni (thyme, bay, parsley stalks) | 1 |
| Black peppercorns | 1 tsp |
| Frisée or mâche (for serving) | 150 g |
| Waxy potatoes (Charlotte or fingerling), boiled | 400 g |
| Sauce Ravigote | generous amount (8–10 tbsp) |
| Cornichons, sliced | 8–10 |
| Flat-leaf parsley | 2 tbsp |
| Fleur de sel and black pepper | to finish |
Method
- Prepare the court-bouillon: combine water, white wine, carrot, onion, celery, bouquet garni, peppercorns, and a generous tablespoon of salt in a large pot. Bring to a boil and simmer 20 minutes.
- Add the calf’s head (and tongue if using) to the court-bouillon. The liquid should cover the meat by at least 5 cm. Bring back to a gentle simmer — never a boil, which toughens the meat.
- Skim the surface carefully for the first 10 minutes. Partially cover and cook at a very gentle simmer for 2–2½ hours, until the meat is completely tender and a skewer passes through without resistance. The cheeks and gelatinous parts should be soft and yielding.
- If using tongue: after the first hour, remove it, let cool slightly, then peel off the rough skin while it’s still warm. Return to the pot for the remainder of cooking.
- Remove the meat from the court-bouillon and let it rest, covered loosely with foil, for 15 minutes. Slice into 1½-cm thick slices across the grain. Keep warm.
- Boil the potatoes in salted water until just tender. Drain, slice in half lengthwise, and toss immediately with 2 tablespoons of the ravigote while still warm.
- To assemble: arrange the frisée or mâche loosely on a large platter. Place the warm potato slices around the edges. Arrange the warm sliced tête de veau in the centre.
- Spoon the sauce ravigote generously over the meat — it should pool around it, not just be a thin drizzle. Scatter cornichon slices and parsley over everything.
- Finish with fleur de sel and black pepper. Serve immediately while the meat is still warm.
Notes
- The key to this dish is serving the meat warm. Cold tête de veau is a different (and less appealing) dish. Have the sauce made and the garnishes ready before you slice.
- Court-bouillon can be strained and used to make a light velouté or simply discarded. It makes an excellent base for a braised vegetable dish.
- Ducasse serves this at Benoit in Paris, his classic bistro acquisition, with a glass of Chablis or a modest white Burgundy.
- Sourcing: a good butcher will bone and roll the calf’s head for you. Order a few days in advance. Some butchers sell it already blanched and cleaned, which reduces prep time significantly.
- This dish also works well with warm potato salad instead of greens as the only base — a more rustic, bistro presentation.
- The sauce ravigote is essential and non-substitutable. Its sharpness is the structural counterpoint to the gelatinous meat.
Dressing: Sauce-Ravigote