Have you ever had a favorite dish at a restaurant you’d order almost every time without hesitation? So tasty that you think about it in the minutes beforehand, ready to ferociously dig in? Savoring every bite then wishing there was more? Well, for me, one of those dishes is chicken saltimbocca, chicken with sage and prosciutto in a white wine sauce. This is one of my Italian favorites, I’ve ordered it at almost all of the local Italian places I’ve been to (except some of the fancier ones that don’t have it on the menu. I guess it’s a little low-class for them)
But the funny thing is, I must have had this dish at least a dozen times over the last year or so and it never really occurred to me that I could try to make it myself. Maybe I could blame my laziness, the intimidation of Italian cooking, or even that I’m loathe to open up a new bottle of wine every time I cook (since I don’t cook every night) but no, I can’t even make an excuse for it. I just…well it didn’t even cross my mind until a couple weeks back.
I’m not really sure how it actually came to mind (could be that I ordered a new cookbook, more details on this when I actually cook something from it) but off I was, scouring the Internet for recipes. There were a ton of recipes to be found, some I liked…and of course some not so much.
Anyway, the recipe posted below is a compilation of several I found on the net along with a few additions of my own.
Chicken Saltimbocca
Time : 35-45 minutes
Serves 4
Ingredients:
– 4 Boneless chicken cutlets (4-6 oz each)
– 8 thin slices of prosciutto
– 8 fresh sage leaves (plus more for garnish)
– 4 slices fontina or mozzarella
– 1/2 cup flour
– 2 tbsp butter
– 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
– 1 shallot, minced
– 4 cloves garlic, minced
– 1/2 – 3/4 cup dry white wine
– 1/2 cup chicken broth
Method:
1. Sprinkle each chicken cutlet with salt and pepper. Pound flat, roughly a quarter of an inch. Lightly dredge the chicken cutlets in the flour
2. Heat 1 tbsp olive oil and 1 tbsp butter in a large frying pan. When the butter melts, place the chicken in the pan. Cook 3-4 minutes then flip over. Place 2 sage leaves and 2 slices of prosciutto on each cutlet. Place a slice of cheese on each cutlet and cook, covered, for another 3-4 minutes. Remove cutlets to a platter and cover.
3. Add shallots and garlic to the hot pan with 1 tbsp olive oil, let sit for about 10-15 seconds.
4. Add wine to the hot pan (watch for the smoke!) and use a wooden spoon to scrape all the brown bits from the pan. Reduce the wine to about half, then add the chicken broth. Reduce again, then remove from heat and add the remaining 1 tbsp butter.
5. Taste the sauce and adjust accordingly with some salt and fresh pepper. Pour the sauce over the cutlets and serve.