Saltimbocca means “jump into the mouth.” -Joy of Cooking
Do I have your attention?
I love this recipe. It’s simple, but fancy. I read the version we are making here in an America’s Test Kitchen magazine: Best-Ever Italian Recipes. Their version is a little different from the original though. The original, pictured above, is a veal cutlet pounded thin and filled with prosciutto, sage, and cheese. The cutlet is then folded over and secured with toothpicks, pan seared, and topped with a white wine, lemon, and butter sauce. Sounds amazing, right?
The Test Kitchen version is a little simpler though. Their recipe calls for pork loin rounds, pounded thin, and the prosciutto laid on top. I think this would also be good with a chicken breast pounded thin if you prefer that over pork. And even though the sauce has a good amount of butter, it’s not a heavy meal. I served mine with mashed potatoes and green salad: Romain lettuce, honey crisp apples cut thin, blue cheese crumbles, dried cranberries, candied walnuts, and a balsamic vinaigrette.
I was so happy the first time I made it. It was so good and easy. The kicker, I also prep these in bulk ahead of time. I buy the four pack of pork loins from Costco. They include two packs with two loins in each. So I open one, cut both loins into rounds, pound them thin and prep with prosciutto. Then I wrap each one in plastic wrap, seal in a food saver bag, and just pull out however meany I want another night down the road. It’s great!
Now, on to cooking…
Pork Saltimbocca
Ingredients
- 1 pork loin
- 5 slices prosciutto
- 5 whole sage leaves plus 1 tbs chopped
- 1 egg white
Sauce
- 1 lemon
- ½ cup dry white wine
- ¾ cup chicken stock
- 4 tbs butter
- olive oil
- salt and pepper
Instructions
- Cut pork loin into 5 equal sections.
- Trim any silver skin and discard.
- One at a time, pound each section with a meat mallet.
- I put mine in a zip top bag to keep my prep area clean. You could also use plastic wrap.
- Season with salt and pepper.
- Lay a piece of prosciutto over each cutlet, folding the extra over.
- Dip each leaf in the egg white and press into prosciutto
- This is mostly for looks, there will be more sage in the sauce.
- Heat pan on medium-high
- Add 1 tbs butter plus a little olive oil.
- In two batches, pan fry each cutlet on both sides, starting them prosciutto side down.
- Make the sauce:
- Remove meat to a plate and cover with foil.
- Add wine to deglaze the pan, scraping up the brown bits. After a few minutes, add chicken stock, lemon, and chopped sage plus salt and pepper to taste.
- Cook on medium and reduce by half.
- Turn off heat. One tablespoon at a time, whisk in remaining butter. This makes a glossy finish.
- Return pork to the pan and spoon sauce over each piece. Serve with mashed potatoes and green salad. Bon appetit!
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