Saturday, January 15, 2005

Jump in my mouth

The other night, Ann had some chicken that she didn't wasn't sure what to do with. I don't tend to buy chicken breast that often, but I mentioned that my favorite thing to do is to make it saltimboca-style.
I believe that saltimboca is usually pieces of veal, but I'm not a big fan of veal. It isn't really a moral thing, although those aspects don't exactly make me want to eat it. Mostly, I just find it kind of bland, or at least not much more flavorful than a chicken breast.
At any rate, I tend to use chicken for this dish. Although the version we had at Lupa last year did have veal, I believe. Of course, theirs had the prosciutto on the outside, and it was the size of a doormat. Anyway...
We placed butterflied chicken breasts between some plastic wrap, pounded them thin ("bad chicken") and then made a sort of prosciutto and sage sandwich, layering a few thin slices of the ham with two or three sage leaves. Afterwards, we lightly pounded the chicken pieces together again, making a pretty cohesive little package. This fortified cutlet was then dredged in seasoned flour and fried in olive oil. There was a botched attempt at a pan sauce afterwards, but I won't go into that. The chicken didn't really need a sauce, and most recipes I've seen don't involve deglazing at all. Ann's salad of field greens, goat cheese, and walnuts was accompaniment enough.
I hadn't made this dish in probably a year. After having it the other night, I can't imagine why I don't make it more often. I have to wonder if I could do the same thing with chicken thighs.

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