Saltimbocca in Italian loosely translates as “jump in the mouth,” so you can be confident that these Saltimbocca alla Romana will taste amazing, and your people won’t be able to eat it fast enough. Traditionally, saltimbocca is made with thin veal cutlets, but feel free to adapt the recipe and use pork, chicken, or even turkey, keeping in mind the meat must be very tender. A quick flouring before searing the cutlets in olive oil and butter ensures a nice golden crust and a crispy sage leaf for a juicy appetizer everyone will fight for. Enjoy!
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Ingredients list for the Saltimbocca recipe
- 8 two-ounce veal, pork, or chicken cutlets (called scallopini), about 1/4-inch thick – about one pound
- 8 slices of prosciutto
- 8 fresh sage leaves
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper, or to taste
- 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
- 1 or 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1/2 cup dry white wine
- 1/2 cup low-sodium chicken stock
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Saltimbocca recipe: key ingredients
- Meat: Whatever your protein of choice, it needs to be in a thin piece of tender meat! Veal, chicken, or pork are easier to handle if you can buy them as already thinly sliced steak so they only require a light pounding out or no pounding at all. Otherwise, you can slice meat yourself and then flatten the steaks out. Beef does not really lend to saltimbocca because its texture gets tough pretty quickly with this cooking mode.
- Prosciutto: It provides the main source of salt for this appetizer.
- Fresh sage leaves: Sage crisps beautifully on top of the prosciutto and meat and brings color and flavor to the dish.
Photo credit: © Eatwell101.com
Photo credit: © Eatwell101.com
Photo credit: © Eatwell101.com
Photo credit: © Eatwell101.com
Photo credit: © Eatwell101.com
Photo credit: © Eatwell101.com
Photo credit: © Eatwell101.com
Directions
To make the saltimbocca alla romana:
1. Flatten the scallopini between sheets of parchment paper using the smooth side of a meat mallet to even them out to the same thickness.
2. On each cutlet, place a slice of prosciutto and two sage leaves. Secure the sage leaves and prosciutto slices to the scallopini with a toothpick.
3. Add the flour to a shallow plate, then dredge the scallopine in the flour on each face.
4. Heat olive oil and butter in a medium skillet. When the butter is melted and the oil is very hot but not smoking, put the scallopini into the skillet, sage, and prosciutto side down, and cook for 1 minute on each face, depending on the thickness of the cutlet.
5. Add the wine and chicken stock and scrape up any bits on the bottom of the skillet. Let the sauce reduce by half, stirring constantly, until the pan sauce reaches the desired consistency. Adjust salt if needed and add freshly ground pepper.
6. Transfer the saltimbocca alla romana to a serving platter and serve immediately, spooning the remaining sauce on top. Enjoy!
Photo credit: © Eatwell101.com
Photo credit: © Eatwell101.com
How to keep saltimbocca leftovers
Any saltimbocca leftovers can be kept in an airtight container for up to 3 days. Bring to room temperature and reheat gently in a skillet with a bit of oil.
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Photo credit: © Eatwell101.com
