Here, coffee forms the base of a wonderful wild mushroom sauce, enhanced with red wine and sweet Marsala. A creamy celeriac or parsnip puree goes particularly well with this dish.
20 g (> ounce) dried porcini mushrooms
85 ml (3 fluid ounces) freshly brewed black filter coffee (not espresso)
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
4 x 175 g veal fillet steaks
25 g (1 ounce) unsalted butter, chilled and cut into small pieces
2 shallots, chopped
1 garlic clove, crushed
1 sprig of thyme
250 g (9 ounces) fresh porcini mushrooms (or chestnut mushrooms), thickly sliced
4 tablespoons good-quality red wine
100 ml (3-1/2 fluid ounces) veal stock (or chicken stock)
85 ml (3 fluid ounces) sweet Marsala
salt
freshly ground black pepper
Put the dried porcini in a bowl, pour over the coffee and leave to soak for 30 minutes, until softened. Strain off the liquid and reserve. Chop the mushrooms finely and set aside.
Heat the oil in a large frying pan until very hot, season the veal steaks and fry for 2 – 3 minutes on each side. Remove from the pan and keep warm, draining off any excess oil left in the pan. Melt 10 g (< ounces) of the butter in the pan, then add the shallots, garlic, thyme and soaked dried mushrooms and cook over a high heat for 1 minute. Add the fresh mushrooms and cook for 2 minutes longer. Pour in the red wine, mushroom soaking liquid and stock and boil until the sauce has reduced by half its original volume. Stir in the remaining chilled butter and the Marsala and season to taste. Put the veal steaks on serving plates and coat with the mocha porcini sauce. Serves 4.