Saltimbocca alla Romana
Thoughts of sage bring to mind Saltimbocca, one of the most classic Roman dishes. The name literally translates as hopinthemouth and is singularly appropriate -- you can never have too many of these cutlets.
Assuming you want to serve 4 you will need a pound of veal cutlets or scallops (8, each about the size of a playing card), 8 slices of prosciutto, 4 leaves of sage, butter or oil for sautéing, wooden toothpicks, and salt and pepper to taste.
Flatten out the cutlets with the flat of a broad-bladed knife, lay half a leaf of sate on each, and a slice of prosciutto. Affix the prosciutto to the veal with the toothpicks. Heat a couple of tablespoons of sweet butter or oil in a skillet and sauté the cutlets until done, cooking them more on the veal side than the prosciutto side. Season to taste and serve them with their drippings.
As variations, you can sprinkle some (a couple of tablespoons at the
most) wine or lemon juice into the pan when the cutlets are almost done. In any
case, these will go well with a white wine from the Colli romani.
Two
more versions:
- Veal Saltimbocca
Leonard Bibbo uses veal rib chops for his saltimbooca, and completes them with a tasty wine sauce. - Saltimbocca alla
GianLeonardo
Caught short one day, Leonard developed another saltimbocca variation, with a red wine and tomato based sauce.
