Saltimbocca Recipes

SALTIMBOCCA ALLA ROMANA

Steps:

• Place the veal escalopes on a chopping board, leaving a little space between them. Cover with clingfilm and, using your fists or a rolling pin, bash them out until they are about 5mm thick, then discard the clingfilm. Season both sides of the flattened veal with a little black pepper (there's no need for salt as the prosciutto is quite salty). Lay 2 sage leaves flat on each piece of veal, then place 2 pieces of prosciutto on top to cover the meat, and fold over the sides to neaten up.
• Heat a frying pan over a medium heat and add 1 tbsp butter and a drizzle of oil. Add 2 escalopes to the pan and fry for about 2 minutes on each side, until golden brown.
• When done, remove to a plate and cover with foil to keep warm. Fry the other 2 escalopes in the same way, then remove to the plate, cover with foil and set aside.
• Put the pan back on the heat, add the remaining butter and the marsala and simmer for 1 minute until you have a lovely sweet, glossy sauce.
• Serve the saltimbocca with pasta, polenta or boiled or roast potatoes, and cut the lemon into wedges for squeezing over.

PORK SALTIMBOCCA

Steps:

• Remove silvery membrane from surface of the tenderloin with a sharp knife. Reserve the trimmings. Trim off the small "head" pieces of the tenderloin where there is a natural separation; this is optional. Reserve.
• Cut tenderloin in half crosswise to make 2 equal portions. Cut each half lengthwise in half to make 4 pieces. Transfer to a bowl; refrigerate while you start the sauce.
• Chop the reserved trimmings very fine. Melt butter in a pot over medium-high heat until caramelized and nicely browned, 4 or 5 minutes. Stir in broth and gelatin. Stir in water. Cook and stir over medium or medium-low heat at a low simmer until liquid is reduced by half, about 1 1/2 hours. Add more water if it reduces too quickly.
• Place pork sections between to pieces of plastic wrap. Pound to a thickness of about 1/4 to 1/8 inch thick. Remove top sheet of plastic wrap. Turn each piece over. Sprinkle generously with salt and pepper. Dust very lightly with about 2 teaspoons flour. Flip back over; sprinkle with black pepper only. Press 3 sage leaves onto surface of each piece of pork. Cover completely with prosciutto, cutting or tearing strips to fit. A bit of overlap is okay.
• Place sheet of plastic wrap back over the pork and pound very lightly to make sure the prosciutto sticks to the pork. Transfer to a plate; cover with plastic wrap. Refrigerate until chilled, at least 30 minutes.
• Strain pork broth into a bowl.
• Place skillet over high heat; add olive oil. When olive oil is hot and shimmering, place pork pieces in the oil prosciutto side down. Cook about 3 minutes. Carefully turn pieces and cook another minute. Remove skillet from heat. Transfer pork to warm serving plates.
• Blot excess oil from skillet with paper towels. Add wine and pork broth. Cook over high heat until mixture thickens and reduces by about half, 4 to 5 minutes.
• Spoon hot sauce over pork sections.

SALTIMBOCCA ALLA ROMANA

Steps:

• Put the veal cutlets side by side on a sheet of plastic wrap. Lay a piece of prosciutto on top of each piece of veal and cover with another piece of plastic. Gently flatten the cutlets with a rolling pin or meat mallet, until the pieces are about 1/4-inch thick and the prosciutto has adhered to the veal. Remove the plastic wrap and lay a couple of sage leaves in the center of each cutlet. Weave a toothpick in and out of the veal to secure the prosciutto and sage. Put some flour in a shallow platter and season with a fair amount of salt and pepper; mix with a fork to combine. Dredge the veal in the seasoned flour, shaking off the excess.
• Heat the oil and 1 tablespoon of the butter and in a large skillet over medium flame. Put the veal in the pan, prosciutto-side down first. Cook for 3 minutes to crisp it up and then flip the veal over and saute the other side for 2 minutes, until golden. Transfer the saltimbocca to a serving platter, remove the toothpicks, and keep warm.
• Add the wine to the pan, stirring to bring up all the delicious flavor in the bottom; let the wine cook down for a minute to burn off some of the alcohol. Add the chicken broth and remaining tablespoon of butter, swirl the pan around. Season with salt and pepper. Pour the sauce over the saltimbocca, garnish with sage leaves and lemon wedges; serve immediately.

CHICKEN SALTIMBOCCA

Steps:

• Place the chicken cutlets flat on the work surface. Sprinkle the chicken with salt and pepper. Lay 1 slice of prosciutto atop each chicken cutlet.
• Squeeze the frozen spinach to remove the excess water. Season the spinach with salt and pepper. In a small bowl, toss the spinach with 1 tablespoon of oil to coat.
• Arrange an even, thin layer of spinach atop the prosciutto slices. Sprinkle the Parmesan evenly over each. Beginning at the short tapered end, roll up each chicken cutlet as for a jellyroll. Secure with a toothpick.
• Heat the remaining 2 tablespoons of oil in a heavy large skillet over high heat. Add the chicken and cook just until golden brown, about 2 minutes per side. Add the chicken broth and lemon juice, and scrape the browned bits off the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon. Bring the liquid to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium. Cover and simmer until the chicken is just cooked through, about 8 to 10 minutes. Transfer the chicken to a platter. Simmer the cooking liquid over high heat until it is reduced to about 2/3 cup, about 5 minutes. Season the cooking liquid with salt and pepper, to taste. Remove toothpicks from the chicken. Drizzle the reduced cooking liquid over the chicken and serve immediately.

CLASSIC SALTIMBOCCA

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 250°F. Sprinkle veal on both sides with salt and pepper. Top each with 1 prosciutto slice and 1 sage leaf.
• Melt 1 1/2 tablespoons butter in heavy large skillet over high heat until foaming. Working in batches and adding more butter as needed (reserving 1 tablespoon), cook veal in single layer, prosciutto side down, until brown, about 1 minute. Using spatula, carefully turn veal over, keeping sage leaf intact. Cook until brown, about 1 minute longer. Transfer to rimmed baking sheet; keep warm in oven.
• Add wine to pan drippings in skillet; cook over high heat until liquid is reduced by 1/3, scraping up browned bits, about 2 minutes. Add any juices from baking sheet. Swirl in remaining 1 tablespoon butter. Transfer veal to platter, pour sauce over, and serve.

SALTIMBOCCA

Steps:

• Pound scallopini between pieces of plastic wrap until thin. Top each of the slices with a slice of prosciutto and a sage leaf. Secure prosciutto and sage leaf to the veal with a toothpick. Melt the butter in a pan large enough to accommodate the 4 veal slices and brown them on both sides for a few minutes. Sprinkle with fresh pepper and lightly with salt (prosciutto is already salty). Add white wine and reduce quickly over high heat until almost glazed. The whole procedure should not take longer than 5 minutes. Serve with "instant" polenta and/or saute of mushrooms and parsley.

SALTIMBOCCA

Steps:

• Wash and dry fillets, and pound the breasts with a rolling pin until they are less than 1/8 inch thick. Arrange 1 slice of prosciutto on 1/2 of each fillet.
• Wash, dry and chop sage, and sprinkle over prosciutto. Sprinkle with a little salt and pepper, and fold the other half of the fillet over the prosciutto. Press edges to seal.
• Heat oil in small nonstick skillet until it is medium hot. Add the fillets, and brown quickly on both sides, only a couple of minutes.
• Reduce heat to low, and add wine. Stir around in pan and serve with wine poured over saltimbocca.

VEAL ESCALOPES WRAPPED WITH PROSCIUTTO, SAGE & LEMON (SALTIMBOCCA)

Steps:

• Bash out the escalopes until they are about 5mm thick. Place a sage leaf on each one, wrap with the prosciutto, then press another sage leaf on top and flatten out with your hand. Dust lightly with the seasoned flour.
• Heat the oil and the butter in a large frying pan until foaming, and fry the veal for 4-5 mins on each side until the prosciutto is crisp, then remove from the pan. Add the Marsala wine to the pan and sizzle to make a sauce, scraping any tasty bits off the bottom. Add the lemon juice to taste. Put the veal back in the pan to heat through, then serve with a green salad and some fried potatoes or crusty bread.

SALTIMBOCCA

Steps:

• Pat veal cutlets dry. With a knife mince and mash garlic to a paste with salt. Spread about 1/2 teaspoon garlic paste on one side of 1 veal cutlet and arrange 3 sage leaves in one layer over paste. Cover veal cutlet with 2 slices prosciutto and secure prosciutto and sage with 3 wooden picks. Arrange veal cutlet, prosciutto side down, on a tray and season with pepper. Prepare more saltimbocca in same manner.
• In a 12-inch heavy skillet heat oil over high heat until it just begins to smoke and sauté 2 veal cutlets, prosciutto sides down, 30 seconds. Turn veal cutlets over and sauté 15 seconds more, or until veal is just cooked through. Transfer saltimbocca with tongs to a platter and keep warm, loosely covered with foil. Sauté remaining veal cutlets and keep warm in same manner.
• Pour off oil from skillet and return skillet to high heat. Add wine carefully and deglaze skillet, scraping up brown bits. Boil wine until reduced to about 1/3 cup.
• Discard wooden picks and serve saltimbocca drizzled with reduction sauce.

CHICKEN SALTIMBOCCA

Steps:

• Place 1 ham slice over each chicken breast and fasten with toothpicks. Melt butter in a medium skillet over medium high heat and fry chicken for 5 to 7 minutes, or until almost cooked through (juices run clear).
• Pour wine over chicken and allow to evaporate; place 1 cheese slice over each chicken breast and cover skillet. Cook until cheese has melted, about 5 minutes.

VEAL SALTIMBOCCA

Steps:

• Cut cheese into 1/4-in. strips. Place a prosciutto slice, 2 sage leaves and cheese down center of each cutlet. Roll up and secure with toothpicks., In a large resealable plastic bag, combine flour, salt and pepper. Add veal, a few rolls at a time, and shake to coat. In a large skillet, brown veal in butter and oil on all sides; remove and keep warm., Add broth and wine, stirring to loosen browned bits from pan. Return rolls to the pan; cook 8-10 minutes or until a thermometer reads 160° and sauce is thickened. Stir in parsley and lemon juice; heat through. Discard toothpicks; serve with sauce.