You want a quick dish, but still something special? Then veal scaloppine, Italian-style escalopes are just the thing: with a fruity hint of lemon or with the subtle herbal aroma of wine, depending on your taste. Or even both, if you want to cook with two pans.
Savoir vivre Italian-style
Nowadays, the English language dominates the world but this was not always so. Once upon a time, it was French which was dominant in Europe, although this may be hard to imagine. From the 17th to the 19th century, French dominated conversation – at least in better circles – as well as the vocabulary of the culinary arts. Not only were French terms adopted, but also new foods and cooking methods. Some remained in the original, such as words like menu or brioche, which are the same in Italian. Others, such as meringa (from the French meringue) and scaloppina (from the French escalope), were "Italianised".
Sauce as desired
Scaloppine are thin (about 2 cm) beef, veal or chicken cutlets. Traditionally in Italy, there are two ways of preparing scaloppine. In one, the cutlet is first dipped in flour or starch and then seared in hot butter or oil on both sides. The sauce is flavoured with lemon, Marsala or white wine and lengthened with a little water or broth. In the second version, the meat is seared and flavored, and the sauce is thickened with flour or starch only at the end.
📖 Recipe
Scaloppina all‘italiana
Ingredients
- 4 veal cutlets, approx. 400 g (alternatively, beef or chicken)
- salt
- pepper
- 100 g butter
- some flour
Additionally
- 1 lemon, juice only or ½ glass white wine or Marsala
- 2 tablespoon stock, or water
Instructions
- Pound the veal escalopes. Cut at the edge so that they do not curl during frying. Season with salt and pepper. Melt butter in a large frying pan. The cutlets should not lie on top of each other in the pan. Coat one side of each cutlet in flour, place this side first in the hot butter and sear until browned. Turn the meat over and also sear the other side.
- Deglaze the cutlets with lemon juice, white wine or Marsala. Remove the meat immediately from the pan and keep warm. Bring the leftover sauce and juices to the boil with a few tablespoons of cold stock or water, stirring until the sauce thickens. Return the cutlets to the sauce in the hot pan and serve immediately.
Notes
Nutrition
Buon appetito!
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