Zürcher Geschnetzeltes

Name: Zürcher Geschnetzeltes
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 35 min
Yield: 4 plates
Cuisine: Swiss
Ingredients: 600 g Veal, topside or loin, cut across the grain into 5 mm strips; 250 g Mushrooms, button or chestnut, sliced; 2 piece Shallot, finely chopped; 40 g Butter; 1 tbsp Wheat flour, for dusting the veal; 150 ml White wine, dry; 150 ml Chicken stock, or veal stock; 250 ml Cream; 1 tbsp Lemon juice; 2 tbsp Parsley, chopped; 1 tsp Salt; 0.5 tsp Black pepper

Zurich's sliced veal in a white wine, mushroom and cream sauce, cooked in half an hour and served only ever with rösti.

Recipe by I Want Some Food · Reviewed by the editorial kitchen.

Start cooking

Prep: 15 min
Cook: 20 min
Rest: None
Total: 35 min
Difficulty: Medium
Spice: No chilli
Cost: Treat yourself$28+ USD · indicative, not a store price

Know it before you cook it

About

Thin strips of veal are seared fast in butter in two or three batches and set aside. Shallots and sliced mushrooms sweat in the same pan, white wine and stock reduce by half, cream goes in and reduces again until it coats a spoon, and the veal returns with its juices for a minute with a squeeze of lemon and parsley. The old Zurich restaurant version adds strips of veal kidney; leave it out or put it in, but know that it is traditional. It takes 30 minutes and wants everything sliced and measured before the pan goes on. Rösti alongside, nothing else.

What you'll need

12 ingredients. Tap each one once it's out on the bench.

0 of 12 ready

4 servings

Ingredients

Servings

Veal, topside or loin, cut across the grain into 5 mm strips600 g
Mushrooms, button or chestnut, sliced250 g
Shallot, finely chopped2
Butter40 g
Wheat flour, for dusting the veal15 ml
White wine, dry150 ml
Chicken stock, or veal stock150 ml
Cream250 ml
Lemon juice15 ml
Parsley, chopped30 ml
Salt4.9 ml
Black pepper2½ ml

Scaling multiplies the written quantities. Baking still prefers a scale.

Steps

Step 1
Pat the veal dry, season, and toss with the flour so each strip has the thinnest coat. Heat half the butter in a wide pan until foaming and sear the veal in three batches, 1 minute each, just until coloured and still pink inside. Set aside on a warm plate.
8 min
Watch: Crowd the pan and the veal boils grey in its own juice. Small batches, hot pan.
Step 2
Add the rest of the butter, then the shallots for a minute and the mushrooms for 4 to 5 minutes until they colour and their water has gone.
6 min
Step 3
Pour in the wine, scrape up the pan, and reduce by half. Add the stock and reduce by half again, about 5 minutes in all.
5 min
Step 4
Add the cream and simmer 3 to 4 minutes until it coats the back of a spoon. Return the veal and any juices, warm through for 1 minute without boiling, and finish with lemon juice, parsley, salt and pepper.
5 min
Tip: The veal has already cooked. It only needs to get warm again.

Nutrition

Per serving · estimate

Calories: 525 kcal
Protein: 34.6 g
Carbs: 10 g
Fat: 35.7 g
Saturated fat: 21.2 g
Fibre: 1.3 g
Sugar: 4.8 g
Sodium: 768 mg

Calculated from canonical ingredient data (USDA FoodData Central averages and equivalent published tables). Estimates only.

Allergens

Informational only. Not a medical guarantee. Cross-contamination happens in real kitchens.

Milk
Wheat

Nut-free

Adapt this recipe

The original recipe stays as it is. Personal versions are labelled. Serving changes are simple maths.

Adaptations · 0 / 15 used. Resets 13 November.

Substitutions

Veal → Pork fillet
Common and half the price. Call it Geschnetzeltes nach Zürcher Art, as the Swiss do.

Tips

Ask the butcher to slice the veal for Geschnetzeltes; it saves ten minutes and the strips come out even.
Make the rösti first and keep it warm in a low oven. The sauce does not wait well.

History & culture

Zurich's signature dish, on every guild-house menu and in the Kronenhalle with the kidneys in. It is Sunday lunch and business lunch in equal measure. At home it is a treat, because veal costs what it costs, and because cream sauces are weekend food even in Switzerland.

First printed in a Swiss cookbook in 1947, so it is a 20th-century restaurant dish from a city that had the banking money to put veal and cream on the same plate. The mushrooms were added later and are now expected. Pork versions exist and are honestly labelled as such.

Traditional — Without the kidney, which most home cooks and many restaurants now omit.

Provenance: Editorial adaptation.

Questions about this recipe

Answers taken from this dish's times, amounts, swaps and tips.

How long does Zürcher Geschnetzeltes take?

35 min all in — 15 min prep, 20 min cook. Cook and rest follow the method. Leftover storage and optional extra waits are not included.

How many does it serve?

The recipe is written for 4 plates. Scale the ingredient list on the page if you are cooking for a different number.

How hard is it?

Medium.

How spicy is it?

No chilli.

What allergens should I watch?

This recipe is labelled for Milk, Wheat. Labels are informational — check the packets in your kitchen. This is not medical advice.

Does it fit a diet?

The published recipe is labelled Nut-free.

7 more questions

What does it cost to cook?

Treat yourself — about $28+ USD, as a grocery budget for this recipe, not a restaurant price.

What equipment do I need?

Frying pan, Chef's knife, Tongs.

How much salt do I put in?

The recipe lists Salt at 1 tsp.

What can I use instead?

Veal → Pork fillet. Common and half the price. Call it Geschnetzeltes nach Zürcher Art, as the Swiss do.

What should I watch for?

Crowd the pan and the veal boils grey in its own juice. Small batches, hot pan.

Any tips from this recipe?

Ask the butcher to slice the veal for Geschnetzeltes; it saves ten minutes and the strips come out even. Make the rösti first and keep it warm in a low oven. The sauce does not wait well.

Can I use an air fryer?

This method is not written for an air fryer. The core technique on the page still applies.