Saltimbocca alla Romana

What is 'Saltimbocca'?

'Saltimbocca' are delicious little parcels of veal rolled around parma ham and a sage leaf, cooked quickly with a little butter and a dash of white wine. They're delicious and very very moreish, hence the name which means 'jumps into the mouth'. You can prepare them and cook them in around 20 minutes and they're delicious accompanied with potatoes, salad or even, my current favourite, cauli-mash, a mashed potato replacement made with cauliflowers.

I've made them for years but the recipe I looked at to refresh my memory is from a book called "Five Quarters: Recipes and notes from a Kitchen in Rome", a fabulous book of Roman recipes by Rachel Roddy. You can buy it in any good bookshop.

Ingredients for Saltimbocca

• 300g of veal (fettina di vitello if you're buying in Italy)
• several large Sage leaves (salvia)
• slices of Parma ham (prosciutto crudo)
• 50g of butter
• white wine or Marsala (remember to give some to the chef!)
• black pepper
• toothpicks

How to prepare Saltimbocca

You'll need thin slices of veal - as you can see in my photos I couldn't find large slices so had a larger number of small pieces. In the event that lead to more and smaller parcels, and I quite like that; they leap into your mouth even more readily.

Flatten the veal slices with a mallet or tenderizer, then Rachel Roddy advises to nick the edges of the meat to stop it curling up when cooked. Now lay a slice of prosciutto and a leaf of sage in the centre.

Roll each slice of veal with the prosciutto and sage on the inside, and hold it closed with a toothpick. There are those who then dust the parcels with flour - I don't, but it can make the little sauce a little richer.

Now heat a knob of butter in a pan and pop the little veal parcels in, browning them on all sides. This shouldn't take more than a few minutes. Half-way through, add some white wine (or Marsala). It will reduce swiftly and add taste to the saltimbocca.

When the meat is ready, remove the saltimbocca and ideally serve them immediately. Add some more white wine to the pan still with the juices from cooking the meat, and let it reduce it to a delicious sauce which you can then pour over the saltimbocca.

Grind some black pepper and let everybody tuck in! It's normally best not to add salt as the prosciutto brings plenty of salt of its own to the dish.

Buon appetito!