SALTIMBOCCA ALLA ROMANA!!
This dish is a very traditional Italian recipe which means "jump in the mouth" and is the only main course in Italian cuisine whose recipe has been officially approved and laid down in Venice by a panel of cooks in 1962! I have heard of this recipe loads of times but have never eaten it, so while reading Paul Tullio's review last Saturday I decided this was on the menu plan for the week as he had this for his main course and loved it!!
We love veal, our favourite ways to eat it is just simply dipped in flour, eggs and breadcrumbs, fried and served with a squeeze of lemon juice -"Cotoletta alla Milanese" or Bruno's mom's speciality "Vitello Tonnato", this is probably up in the top 5 of our favourite Italian dishes! It is so delicious, it's basically veal covered in a sauce made from tuna, anchovies, capers, cream and lemon and is eaten cold. I know it sounds like a strange combination but the flavours work so well together. If you ever see it on a menu - ORDER IT!!!
Veal isn't very popular in Ireland for a lot of reasons, even my local Superquinn have stopped stocking it as it wasn't selling which is a shame as I had to get it delivered from the Piccola with the princess's consignment of veal and sole. Yes, you heard me right, her Nonna(grandmother) drops out her fresh sole and veal every week. She then has veal with courgette, carrot, potato all mashed up or sole with potato, onion and peas and both with a little parmesan and olive oil added! Nothing but the best for the princess:)!
Now for the science bit- veal or "Vitello" is meat which comes from animals that are butchered when they are very young and this is why it is so tender, they are usually butchered around 5-7 months or younger and are not very heavy. They are fed exclusively on a milk formula which explains the delicate pale pink colour of the meat. The main benefits of veal is that it cooks quickly and is easy to digest. After pork veal is the most important meat in Italian cooking.
This recipe is really simple and great for a dinner party as it looks quite impressive, I served it with a couple of baked potatoes and Ilva's delicious VERY HERBY AUBERGINES , without the mint - I just don't like it in cooking, now Mojitos are a different story:))
WHAT YOU NEED FOR 2:
- 4 - 5 veal escalopes
- 1 slice of proscuitto per escalope
- fresh sage leaves - 1-2 per escalope
- unsalted butter or margarine
- plain flour
- 100 ml dry white wine
- salt and pepper
- olive oil
WHAT TO DO:
- lay out your escalopes and beat with a meat pounder until they are quite thin - mine were a little too thick and the veal is supposed to cook quickly.
- season with salt and pepper and lay a slice of proscuitto and 1-2 sage leaves on each escalope.
- roll up and fasten with a cocktail stick.
- dip in your flour and shake off excess or just sprinkle some flour on top.
- heat a glug of olive oil and your butter in a frying pan and cook the veal over a high heat on both sides until golden brown.
- season with a little salt, add your wine and cook until it has evaporated.
- Remove the cocktail sticks and serve!!
BUON APPETITO!!
p.s. the sticky out sage leaves are just for effect - I needn't have bothered:)
Hopefully the reason why veal isn't popular in Ireland is because it is produced totally unethically and the babies are given no quality of life at all for their very short existence before they are covered in lemon juice or have a cocktail stick struck through them! Shame for sure!
This HAS to be followed up by a vegetarian recipe :) (Comment this)
Love it. (Comment this)
Is lamb not a baby sheep? I wonder why people get so upset about veal & not lamb... Poor old battery hens only get 40 days in a dirty cage before their heads are on the chopping block. (Comment this)
Definitely a recipe to file away for future use.
(Comment this)
it's getting better now but 4 years back shopping in tesco or dunnes was like a joke. no cheese (i don't consider cheddar as cheese), ho herbs (except parsley and thyme), no vegs (except potatos, carrots and parsnip)...
mash, cabbage, ham and white sauce anyone?! ;-( (Comment this)