From simpicity to complexity and back again: saltimbocca

Ragazzi, we speak at times of "iconic" or "canonical" dishes here.  These are, of course, dishes that everyone has heard of, and that everyone who cooks has in his or her repertoire.    The sly and interesting part of these icons, however, is that while EVERYONE knows them, EVERYONE has a different way of cooking them.  You know this:  if you have an aunt, who makes a dish, and your mom makes or made the same dish, compare the recipes.  And so on: go from family to family, or person to person.  For example, Annalena gets asked, frequently, "how long do you fry your meatballs?"  The answer is, not at all:  Annalena doesn't fry them.  Some people smile and say "of course not," others think she's crazy.  And while she may be crazy,  give her parole on the meatballs:  they're good.

"Saltimbocca" is a dish of Rome.  And there are more variations then you can shake a stick at, probably because it is so easy and has so few ingredients.  Literally, the dish means  "to jump into your mouth," because it's so tasty, and so easy to make, it just jumps in there. 

Annalena suggests that unless you are willing to be very hungry, you use a knife and fork, but Italians are well known for their creative names of dishes, and this is one of them. 

Traditionally, veal serves as the protein for saltimbocca, but as Bob Dylan wrote ( a long time ago)  "the times they are a changing."  Annalena, in researching the dish, learned that for many Italians, chicken is now the way to go.  And Italians are ridiculously conservative about how to cook their dishes.  It is also made with pork, with turkey, and of course, with veal.  Anything that can form a cutlet, can be used.   Annalena has seen this with monk fish.

In further research, Annalena learned that ,years ago, there was a conference in Venice, to try to resolve variations in classic recipes.  Saltimbocca was the only dish where there was agreement.  And Annalena used the recipe so given, from the Italian version of "The Joy of Cooking," known , in English , as "The Silver Spoon."  Except she used chicken.   So, here we go, ragazzi:  a perfect dish for a quick meal.

Let's start with our chicken:  boneless, skinless chicken breasts or cutlets please:

Annalena prefers to use breast, rather than cutlet, because with cutlets, you are at the mercy of the thickness of the cut, and you CAN wind up with cutlets that are too thin.    The ones above, are too thick.  So, you get out some kind of meat pounder (NOT the one you dirty minded folks are thinking of).  Annalena hopes that the picture that follows, gives you a good idea of the thickness you want:

Now, you are going to need salt and pepper (which presumably you have put on the meat already:  the two tiny pieces above, are what are used for "chicken tenders." If you get them with your chicken, treasure the.    Next, you put sage, and prosciutto on the chicken.  Here is where Annalena will make a recommendation:  classically, you put the sage leaves down, and then the prosciutto on top, and secure everything with a toothpick.  Annalena worries about her friends, so she does not do this.  If you do the version where the sage leaves are put on top of the prosciutto, however,  you will HAVE to use toothpicks.  This is not reccomended.   Here are Annalena's prep, with and without the prosciutto:

You can see the sage leaves on one, and then the prosciutto on the other.  Now, we cook.  Melt two tablespoons of butter in a pan, and add the chicken , the ham side up:

Cook this for about 4-5 minutes.  If your chicken is thinner, use less time.  What you want is a color like this:

Annalena is now cooking the chicken, prosciutto side down, for 3-4 minutes.  Then, flip:

Looks good, does it not?  You finish this up by adding about a third to a half cup of white wine.  It will sizzle and  pick up all the brown bits.  After 3-4 minutes this way, you take the cutlets out, and reduce the sauce until the wine is gone.  That goes on top of  the meat, maybe with some more fresh, chopped sage if you like, or not.  Sage is strong. Know your audience:

From start to finish, this dish takes 30 minutes or so to make.  And doesn't it seem festive?  Annalena likes this with asparagus, or green peas, and some other veggie like carrots.  

Ragazzi, go get some good quality prosciutto, and get cooking.  Annalena's watching, and she'll know.