Saltimbocca

Saltimbocca means “jump in the mouth” in Italian. This recipe works great with pork scallopini, pounded chicken breast or our thin-sliced carne asada. It’s just a matter of rolling the cutlet around a simple stuffing and then pan sautéing the whole package.

For the stuff ingredients try: bell peppers, a spinach leaf, and a stick of jack cheese. Or how about a slice of poblano chili, a stick of pepper jack, and some chopped cilantro? Chopped, sautéed mushrooms with parsley, lemon juice, and Italian fontina or parmesan would be delicious too.

  1. Once you’ve got your stuffing assembled, simply roll up the cutlet and secure it with a little kitchen twine or a toothpick.
  2. Get a saute pan hot, then add a couple turns of olive oil and a pat of butter if you like. When the fat is hot, add your saltimbocca rolls and saute on all sides until brown, about 2 minutes per side.
  3. Add some chicken or beef stock or wine (a cup or so) to the pan and scrape the browned bits off the bottom.
  4. Bring it to a boil, reduce the heat to simmer gently, cover the pan and let everything cook about 7 minutes.
  5. Remove the saltimbocca, turn the heat back up to high, reduce the juices to about 2/3 cup.
  6. Turn off the heat and stir in two tablespoons of butter, one tablespoon at a time, to emulsify the sauce.
  7. Spritz on some lemon or lime juice or grate a bit of citrus zest into the sauce at the last minute to brighten it.
  8. Serve with the saltimbocca.