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Benvenuti al Tutti!

Welcome to Luigi's Tastes of Italy

This blog is my small dedication to Italian cooking, and is abolutely 100% free of pretentiousness, complicated ingredients, or any effort to present Italian cuisine as anything other than it really is, very simple.

Hope you enjoy reading my posts and maybe trying out some of the recipes.

Sunday 5 September 2010

Luigi Style Saltimbocca!!

Saltimbocca translated into English basically means hop/jump into my mouth, which for this particular dish is quite apt, as it is absolutely delicious.

Essentially being Italian, this is very simple, and is no more than a veal fillet, with sage, and prosciutto, gently fried in butter, with a dash of Marsala wine added. Thats all it is.

Now, If I was being all uber traditional, I should insist that Saltimbocca can only be made with Veal (the meat from a young calf), and I do not doubt that is the best way of eating it.

However the real world being what it is, we do not always have easy access (or the budget) to Veal throughout the year, but to my mind, it should not mean that I deny myself this delicious dish. So instead, in this particular example we used tender pork loins as an alternative (you could use Chicken fillet, equally to excellent effect).

Obviously it tastes quite different, but with the pork being quite "fatty" it holds up very well to the strong flavours of the sage, and the salty prosciutto. And in my opinion it is not far from the veal version when finished.

For some reason our family, have always served this with a cream sauce, which is what I have presented here. It basically consists of adding the double cream once the meat is fried, and to gently simmer the cream with the meat, along with some extra sage leaves. We also add the Marsala wine, with the cream. Provided you use double cream, do not heat it crazily fast, you will not have any issues with splitting sauces.

I should add, Marsala wine, is commonly available now, but a sweet Sherry, can act as a substitute.



INGREDIENTS:
(serves 4)

4 pork loin fillets,
150ml Double Cream,
fresh sage, around 8 leaves
2 tablespoons of marsala wine
knob of butter
salt and pepper to season


METHOD:

- Take some pork loin fillets or similar, trim off as much fat as you like, and gently "hammer" so they are quite flat and of uniform thickness, season well with salt and pepper, both sides.

-Next onto the pork, add a leaf or two of sage, and onto that apply a slice of the prosciutto, give it a pat so that it "sticks" to the surface.

-Into a hot frying pan, on a medium high heat, add some butter, and gently put the pork loins in, so that the prosciutto is face down onto the cooking surface first, cook for a few minutes until golden, then gently turn them over.

-Once the meat has cooked, add the double cream, and add the extra sage leaves, and add the marsala wine. Cook for a few more minutes, then remove the meat. At this point increase the heat slightly and reduce the cream sauce, until it thickens to a consistency your happy with. Serve with the meat, but avoid pouring it over.

SERVING SUGGESTION:
We had this with fried mushrooms, just simply cooked with garlic and parsley, but sauteed rosemary potatoes are another excellent accompaniement.
Yes, another shockingly bad photo, it did taste delicious though, and if you try it, I am sure you will agree.
Enjoy!!

13 comments:

Joanne said...

Whenever my parents go out to dinner they go to this one place in Brooklyn that makes the most amazing veal saltimbocca. It's not even on the menu anymore bu we've been going there so long that they make it for us anyway. I've always wondered what goes into that magical sauce...delicious.

Ty'sMommy said...

I adore Saltimbocca but I ave never made it myself. I'm going to have to give it a try now, though. You make it look so easy and delicious!

Unknown said...

Mmm I love saltimbocca! I really like your cream sauce. Will have to try sometime!

Carla and Michael said...

Yes, that is a lovely meal. I love the simple fried mushrooms too. Yummy.

Karolina said...

I have never tried it, however I can imagine it tastes great. Especially with mushrooms that I love.

Kim said...

Luigi - I have to say that I really like your style of adding the double cream!! Veal can be somewhat hard to find so I like that you subbed out pork loin or chicken. It looks delicious.

Hazel - Chicken in a Cherry Sauce said...

My friend made this dish for me the other day, but with chicken instead of pork. Absolutely de-lish!! Love the flavour given by the marsala. Yum :)

Alisa-Foodista said...

Im saving your recipe to make this coming week!I havent tried this before and I like your photos and instructions. This is great! Thanks again!

Annalisa said...

Delicious!
I've been reading your latest posts and I'm truly amazed!
I definitely have to visit it more often!
Thanks for your kind comment on my blog!
Annalisa

Kitten with a Whisk said...

I love saltimbocca! This looks like a great recipe.

Betsy (zen-mama.com) said...

Luigi! I love your blog and I'm glad to have found it. I've never tried Saltimbocca! Can't wait.

Anonymous said...

Think the picture is good enough to make my mouth water. Great, great flavours!!

Katherine said...

I create a lot of pork recipes in my kitchen. This is one I'll certainly try. I look forward to more of your posts. I see you've been away for a while. Wishing you well, Katherine

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