Italian: Veal saltimbocca francese a limone & porcini sidro leggero spettacolare.

Swerdna 17 May 2006

Blowed if I know how to blend two languages but what I mean in good old Oz strine is: Seasoned veal topped with prosciutto and served with a spectacular lemon-infused reduction of light cider and mushrooms. Derived from Franco-Italian themes.

Italian: Veal saltimbocca francese a limone & porcini sidro leggero spettacolare.

SATISFIES: Four

INGREDIENTS:

For Braising:

Four-six thin veal slices. (Say 750 gm of steaks flattened but not ruptured)
Flour, WHITE pepper, sea salt
Prosciutto to cover four veal scallops
Light olive oil
One white onion (diced)
Two cloves garlic (thinly sliced)
Half of a lemon.

For the Sauce:

6 oz (175 gm) mushrooms (slice thinly to present the flavour-- keep white for aesthetics; e.g. Oyster, Shitake, Snake)
3 cloves garlic thinly sliced
1/2 cup chicken stock, 1/2 cup light cream, 3 cups DRY cider.
Black pepper & freshly ground salt.
Three tablespoons light olive oil (good for you they say)
Sprig of thyme (the leaves)
Five fresh basil leaves (Asian Basil is best).
One white onion (diced)
Optional touch of chilli
Half a lemon.

For the vegetables:
A bunch or more of aspargus and some washed potatoes.

The Sauce:

Lightly fry the garlic and onion to clear & golden in the oil. Add herbs, seasoning, and mushrooms. Turn heat up and fry mushrooms until they start to wilt. Put the braised mushrooms aside. Add stock to the pan, plus half the cider & deglaze the pan. Transfer the deglaze to a saucepan. Simmer until it achieves a richness and a viscosity that you like, all the while adding the rest of the cider as the level gets too low. Add the reserved mushrooms 10 minutes before serving. Continue the simmering. For the final stage, make sure it has stopped bubbling then add the cream, rebalance the sauce. It is ready.

Vegetables:

Bunch of asparagus: Snap woody stalks off fresh asparagus, blanch one minute in boiling water, cool in a colander under cold running water -- voila--ready to serve. Add a squeeze of lemon just before serving if you like--to go with the theme of the veal.

Pommes noisettes: Use a melon-baller to make raw potato balls. If you don't have one you can cut peeled potatoes into cubes. You could also buy and peel really small potatoes (I do this -- other ways are too fiddly). Put them in a pot of salted water and boil until they are al dente but not mushy. Drain and fry in two tablespoons of butter with two cloves minced/crushed garlic until your balls are brown. Ready to serve.

When vegetables are finished put in the low oven.

Braising the Meats:
Put flour and seasoning with veal scallops in a plastic bag and shake/tumble until thoroughly coated. Preheat a flat pan containing the olive oil to very high heat. It's ready when the oil smokes. Braise the veal for about forty seconds on each side. Remove from pan to a warm dish in an oven preheated to low. Leave oven at LOW (say 75-100C). The veal etc will cook through here while you continue the other cooking phases.

Let the pan come off the very high heat. Heat a teaspoon more olive oil in the braising pan and add the prosciutto. Briefly braise it and remove to the dish with the veal steaks in the oven.

Serve the veal topped with prociutto and freshly ground black pepper on warm/hot plates. Squeeze the lemon over the four portions. Pour the sauce over the top of the meats and serve with the crisp vegetables. [maybe squeeze lemon on the asparagus???? - an afterthought]

This is a delicate dish that deserves a light dry white wine or a light (e.g. dry rose) red.

Origin: We like French and Italian food so I decided to compose a recipe for a francofied version of veal saltimbocca as an anniversary present for my wife for us to have tomorrow night.
I love my wife, I love cooking, I tolerate micro$oft, I love linux, I hate noise, I love life--have a good one. (waste some time and you'll find that you didn't).

Cheers
Swerdna