Saltimbocca alla romana
Veal schnitzels with sage and parma ham
A web page about roman cooking without Saltimbocca alla romana is like an ocean without water. It is probably the most famous and widespread roman main dish, and is served in most restaurants in Rome. And in Italy. And abroad!
Saltimbocca literally means something like ‘jump into your mouth’ in Italian, and refers to the deliciousness of this dish. And it is understandable, it is very popular and is also one of my all-time favorites.
The key to get the best and most original result is to beat the meat into very thin slices, and only short cooking on the pan. At many restaurants in Rome, you could be surprised to see how thin they can be. But it allows you do the short cooking, giving the perfect texture saltimbocca is famous for.
There are different versions of this dish, some fold the meat once and others roll it up. Some use olive oil instead of butter. The correct version, and the one giving the best result, is the meat flattened out, with parma ham and a fresh sage leave fastened with a toothpick – and don’t be shy with the butter!
The dish is first mentioned at the end of the 19th century, but it could have a more ancient origin. Several writers and experts on the topic indicate that the dish originates from the city of Brescia, but after it got very popular in the Capital, it is widely accepted that this is a roman classic.
Ingredients
4 persons (main dish)
Cooking time : 30 mins.
- 400 gr. veal schnitzels (veal thigh)
- 4 pieces of parma ham, each slize cut in two
- 8 sage leaves
- 7 table spoons of butter
- One glass of dry white wine
- 2 table spoons of flour
- 8 tooth picks
Part the meat pieces into the sizes of a walnut. Pound the veal schnitzels carefully flat with the smooth side of the meat mallet, getting pieces no thicker than 5mm.
Lightly salt and pepper each piece of meat, top each of them with a slice of ham and a sage leave. Fasten meat, ham and sage leave with a tooth pick. Turn the meat in flour on both sides.
Heat a large frying pan at medium heat, and add 5 tablespoons of butter. Fry the meat for 3-5 mins on each side, and take them off the pan and keep lukewarm.
Turn up the heat to medium/high, and pour the wine into the pan. Cook for a minute or two, and reduce until only half of the wine is left. Add the rest of the butter and stir well. The flour from the meat will help give the sauce a nice texture.
Turn the heat to low, and put the meat back to the pan, and mix well. Season the sauce with salt to your liking.
Serve immediately, and pour over the lovely wine sauce.
Tips
20 minutes before I fry the meat, I add the butter to the pan and put it at lowest heat with a few cloves of garlic and a sprig of rosemary or thyme, and let the butter soak up the flavors. It will boost the sauce in the end.
This is not roman at all, and could be considered blasphemic in gastronomic sense, but you can make an extravagant power sauce in this way: Do not put the meat back into the pan, instead add a large cup of full cream to the pan, let it boil at max heat for a minute while you are stirring, add 3 tablespoons of grated parmesan cheese, stir well and serve. This sauce will knock off your socks!
There usually don’t come too much sauce out of it, and that is the way is should be according to the classic recipe. If you add a bit more wine, in order to get more sauce, it will just be too watery. You can mix the last two table spoons of butter with the left over flour from the meat, and make a beat ball, before adding it to the pan. This will allow for a bit more wine – giving more sauce. Yummi!