On our way back home from our trip to the south, we stopped at CinecittàWorld, the movie theme park in Rome, on a rainy yet pleasant day.
We had lunch at the “Roma” restaurant with one of the most replicated dishes of Lazio cuisine: saltimbocca, and a side dish equally representative of made in Rome, namely chicory sautéed in a pan.
This simply consists of veal slices covered with sweet prosciutto (some use speck) and sage cooked for a few minutes in a pan with white wine.
Preferably choose veal round, and have it sliced into pieces of about 80-100 grams each.
The origin of Roman-style saltimbocca, as often happens, is uncertain.
In addition to Roman roots, it has also been attributed to Brescia.
- Difficulty: Very easy
- Cost: Economical
- Portions: 4 people
- Cooking methods: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Italian
Ingredients for Roman-style saltimbocca with chicory
- 4 slices veal (preferably veal round)
- 4 slices sweet prosciutto (not too thin)
- 4 leaves sage (large)
- 50 ml dry white wine
- 60 g butter
- to taste flour
- to taste salt and pepper
- 500 g chicory
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1 chili pepper
- to taste cherry tomatoes (optional)
- to taste extra virgin olive oil
Instructions for Roman-style saltimbocca with chicory
With the help of a meat mallet, flatten the veal slices well, place a slice of prosciutto in the center of each piece of meat, and position the sage leaf in the center of the meat slice, on top of the prosciutto, then pass a toothpick from one end of the leaf to the other, so that all three ingredients are held together.
Dip the slices of meat, on the non-stuffed side, in flour.
In a pan, heat a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil, add the butter, and let it melt completely. Once the butter has melted, place the slices of meat in the pan and let them heat for a few moments, then cover with a lid to ensure that the top part also cooks.
Deglaze with the white wine and, over high heat, let the alcohol evaporate completely.
Adjust the salt and, if you like, sprinkle with freshly ground pepper.
Let it cook for a short time.
The Roman-style saltimbocca is ready, serve them with the sauce formed during cooking, accompanied by the side of chicory.
Clean the chicory, rinse it and rinse again several times, boil it in a little boiling water, and sauté it in a pan, letting a clove of garlic fry with some hot chili pepper in extra virgin oil, “dragging” it by turning it over several times and adjusting salt and pepper.
If you like, you can also add cherry tomatoes to the chicory to sauté in the pan.
This is what we ate at the “Cantina 126” restaurant in central Rome during our trip in September 2022.
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Cinecittà. The dream factory (Italian) Hardcover, 14.00 €
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