Friday, October 5, 2012

Saltimbocca alla Romana (Chicken)

Saltimbocca, translated means "jumps in the mouth".  If you've ever eaten veal or chicken saltimbocca, you'll understand just how appropriate the name is.



Like most cities, we have our share of Italian restaurants to choose from and the majority of them serve really good food. Oddly enough and much to my dismay, only one of these fine establishments (at least, that I've ever been aware of) offers Saltimbocca on their menu.

I don't get out to that one particular restaurant as often as I'd like to and I don't usually cook veal at home, so my go-to meat for this dish is boneless chicken breast.



Chicken Saltimbocca
  • 4 Boneless Chicken Breasts, sliced in half to make 8
  • 1/4 Lb Prosciutto, sliced extremely thin (at least 8 slices)
  • Sage leaves
  • 2 Lg Shallots, thinly sliced
  • 4 Cloves Garlic, sliced
  • 8oz Crimini or Button Mushrooms, sliced
  • 2 Lg Bunches Spinach Leaves, washed, dried and stems removed
  • 8 Slices Provolone Cheese
  • Marsala Wine (or sweet white wine or vermouth)
  • Butter
  • Olive Oil
  • Kosher Salt
  • Fresh Ground Black Pepper


Lay the chicken cutlets out on a large sheet of waxed paper.


Season with salt & pepper and place a fresh sage leaf in the center of each piece.


Cover each piece with a slice of prosciutto.


Place a large skillet over medium high heat. Add the sliced shallots and garlic, with a tablespoon of butter and the same amount of olive oil and saute them until they start getting soft.




Add the mushrooms and a little more butter or oil (if needed) to the pan and saute those on medium heat.


Cook the mushrooms until they're golden brown.


Add 1/4 Cup of Marsala to the pan with the mushrooms, shallots and garlic.


Turn the heat up to medium high and reduce the Marsala by about 1/2.


Toss in the washed and dried spinach and a couple of tablespoons of water or chicken broth. Season with a little salt & pepper and cover the pan. Turn the heat down to medium or medium low and cook for 3 or 4 minutes


Give the spinach and mushroom mixture a quick stir, set it aside and keep it warm.


Place a sheet of cling wrap over the chicken,


With a heavy rolling pin press down on top of the chicken pieces and roll gently but firmly, until the chicken is flattened out slightly and the prosciutto is pressed into it a bit.


Put about a couple teaspoons of oil in a second skillet and heat on medium high until it's just starting to sizzle a little. Place the chicken pieces in the pan, prosciutto side up and cook for 4 to 5 minutes or until it starts to turn light golden brown. (do this in batches if you need to)


Turn the chicken over and cook for 2 to 4 minutes on the other side, until it's cooked through.


Place the cooked chicken pieces on a foil lined sheet pan.


Cover each piece of chicken with a slice of provolone.


Place the pan under the broiler, (set on low) until the cheese melts and then keep it warm in the oven at 200 degrees or "warm" if your oven has that setting.


Place the pan that you cooked the chicken in over medium high heat.


Add in 1/4 cup more of the Marsala.


Stir it gently to scrape up the brown bits left from cooking the chicken.


Throw in about 8-10 sage leaves and continue to cook until it's reduced by about 1/3.


Turn the heat off and slowly swirl or gently stir in 4 tablespoons of butter (one at a time) to thicken the sauce.




Place a small pile of the spinach onto each plate, place a piece of chicken on top and a spoonful of the mushrooms on top of that.


Spoon a little of the pan sauce on top and serve right away.


Enjoy!


Mary



Yay! My Chicken Enchilada Lasagna was featured this week at Addicted to Recipes!!



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10 comments:

  1. Mary that looks awesome! What do you suggest instead of spinach? I love it, but Bud doesn't. perhaps kale?

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  2. Oh yum, yum, yum! I made saltimbocca once years ago when I was much too lazy a cook to make it properly. It turned out horrible, of course, because I cheated way too much on the directions. Looks like it's time to try again and do it right, this time!

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    Replies
    1. I made this for "date night" last night. My husband said it was restaurant quality! :-) It was delish! I served it with some angel hair pasta that I poured a little of the sauce over.

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  3. Oh yum Mary. I had veal in my hands last night at the grocery store and all I was thinking about was parmigiana. I love saltimbocca. I might try it with chicken which I have. Looks delicious!

    Anne xx

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  4. You have cooked your saltimbocca so well. I wish that your beautifully cooked dish can "jump" into my mouth... Yum!

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  5. Oooooo, this looks DEeeelish!

    I want some, NOW~

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  6. Even the photo of just the ingredients is gorgeous! What a rich, delicious, luxurious dish ... sigh. Amazing and fabulous - like YOU!!! :)

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  7. This looks great! I love the idea of making it with chicken since veal isn't always budget friendly for a family of 4, (2 of which are athletes and at the age where they eat anything and everything you can throw at them)!!

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  8. Mary, We featured this dish for Tasty Tuesday over at aletteredlife.blogspot.com! I then went home and followed your recipe and it was a hit! The only changed I made was using fresh spinach and letting it wilt under the warm chicken. And, I only did that because my kids prefer raw spinach to cooked. Thanks for the delicious idea! ~Holley

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