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Italy, Europe · Saltimbocca alla Romana

Brown-Butter Sage Saltimbocca with Lemon Pan Sauce

Veal pounded to 3 mm, crowned with crisp fried sage and glossed with a restaurant-style sauce of reduced wine and stock emulsified with cold butter.

ServingsServes 2
Total cooking time28 min
DifficultyMedium
About servingsRemove every toothpick before eating. If you swap veal for pork or chicken, cook it right through.

Method

  1. Pound the veal between sheets of cling film to an even 3 to 4 mm; even thickness means every part is done at the same moment. Pat dry, leave at room temperature for 10 minutes to take the chill off, then pepper one side only.

    Add in this stepVeal escalopes (topside, cut across the grain) 260 gBlack pepper to taste

  2. On the unpeppered side, lay 1 sage leaf and drape the prosciutto so it covers the whole piece, pressing it on firmly. If the prosciutto is larger than the veal, fold the overhang onto the back. Secure with a toothpick.

    Add in this stepProsciutto, thin slices 4Fresh sage leaves (for the meat) 4

  3. Heat the olive oil in a 28 cm pan over medium heat and fry the garnish sage leaves for . When the bubbling calms and the leaves are deep green and crisp, lift them straight onto kitchen paper; if they brown they turn bitter. Keep the sage-scented oil in the pan.

    Add in this stepExtra-virgin olive oil 2 tbspFresh sage leaves (to fry for garnish) 6

    medium heat

  4. Dust the veal very lightly with flour and tap off the excess. Add part of the butter to the sage oil over medium-high heat; once the foam subsides, cook the veal prosciutto side down for , turn and cook for (1 batch). Lift it out while still faintly pink inside and rest it on a warm plate, where it finishes cooking and the juices settle back in.

    Add in this stepPlain flour 1½ tbspUnsalted butter, cold and diced 12 g

    medium-high heat

  5. Pour off all but 1 tablespoon of fat. Over high heat, add the wine and boil for , scraping up the browned bits, until syrupy. Add the stock and boil for more, until reduced by half and just coating the back of a spoon.

    Add in this stepDry white wine 80 mlChicken stock (low-salt) 120 ml

    high heat

  6. Turn the heat down to low heat and add the cold butter a piece at a time, swirling the pan constantly for until it melts in. The butter must melt slowly without boiling, so the sauce turns creamy and smooth instead of splitting. Add the lemon juice, taste and season with salt. Return the veal and any resting juices to the pan and spoon the sauce over to glaze.

    Add in this stepUnsalted butter, cold and diced 28 gLemon juice 2 tspSalt to taste

    low heat

  7. Remove the toothpicks, arrange the veal on warm plates, spoon over the sauce and top with the crisp sage leaves. Serve immediately.

Cook's tip

If the butter sauce turns oily and splits, take it off the heat, add 1 teaspoon of cold water and swirl hard; it will come back together. Homemade chicken or veal stock gives a deeper sauce that thickens naturally. Buttered spinach or mashed potatoes are classic partners.

Cooking it at camp

Fry the sage and prep the meat at home, then do the searing and sauce on one burner in a cast-iron pan. Wind cools the pan and actually helps the butter emulsify, but always set up a windbreak. A stock cube dissolved in water is fine for the stock.