I made veal saltimbocca for dinner tonight with three veal cutlets. I had a partial package of prosciutto leftover, so it was a good opportunity to use it up. I also did two sage leaves per cutlet. I’ve never had saltimbocca before, and was blown away by how incredibly flavorful it was for such a quick and easy meal. The only slightly frustrating bit was that I needed to pound the meat thinner and don’t have a meat mallet yet. The variety of things I whacked the meat with didn’t have all that much effect other than making my hands tired. So it probably could be a more delicate meal than how it came out, but we certainly weren’t complaining. Tonight I served it with a Savoy cabbage gratin from Marcella Hazan, and I think Jeremy liked that better than I did. It was a nice rich counterpoint to the lean and deeply savory meat, but I kept wishing there was spaetzle or quinoa or even potatoes instead.

Veal Cutlets with Sage, Roman Style

8 sage leaves
8 slices prosciutto di Parma
8 thin veal cutlets, about 2 ounces each, pounded thin with a meat mallet
4 T butter, divided
1/2 C dry white wine
Salt and pepper, to taste

Place 1 sage leaf and 1 slice of prosciutto on 1 side of each of the veal cutlets, and secure with a toothpick. In a 12 to 14-inch saute pan, heat 2 tablespoons butter over high heat until it foams and subsides. Season each cutlet with salt and pepper and pan-fry 2 minutes on each side. Remove and keep warm. Keeping the pan hot, pour the wine into the pan and stir with a wooden spoon to dislodge the browned bits on the bottom of the pan. Whisk in the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter, season with salt and pepper, and return the cooked cutlets to the pan to reheat. Serve immediately.

Source: Molto Mario, with Mario Batali