A traditional Roman dish with a name perfectly suited for it. ‘Saltimbocca’ translates to ‘jump in your mouth’ because the flavors want to do just that. Though simple to make, it proves to be an impressive dish for dinner guests.

Saltimbocca alla Romana

Ingredients:

• 4 breasts/cutlets of chicken or veal
• 4 pieces of prosciutto di parma
• 8 fresh sage leaves plus more for garnishing
• 1/2 cup white wine
• 2 tbsp. evoo
• 4 tbsp. butter
• salt & pepper
• all purpose flour for dredging, about 1 cup

Pound the breasts or veal cutlets until even and thin, about 1/8″ in thickness. Salt and pepper both sides (don’t salt too much as the prosciutto is salty.) Use a toothpick to attach one piece of prosciutto along each piece of meat with two sage leaves on top. Lightly dredge them in the flour evenly, shaking off the excess.

Heat a pan over medium heat. Once the pan is hot, melt 2 tbsp. of the butter with the evoo. Sear the meat, prosciutto side down, until crispy, just about two minutes on each side. Set aside on a warm plate to rest.

In the pan, deglaze with the white wine scraping all of the bits from browning the meat. Stir constantly until the sauce reduces and becomes thicker, about 3 minutes. Add in the rest of the butter and a sprinkle of parmigiano if you’d like.

Top the seared cutlets with the wine sauce and serve with a fried sage leave for garnish.

Buon appetito!