Scaloppine

One of the most common dishes on restaurant menus in and out of Italy. The quality of the meat is the important thing. It is difficult to get the milk-fed veal which Italians like to eat and to get the veal cuts which they are used to.

Talk to your butcher and explain what you want to do and get his advice. It would normally be to use the upper leg or possibly the rib cuts.

With the meat it is important to trim and clean the meat well, remove all sinew, and to cut into slices no more than 6 mm thick.

Lay the meat between two sheets of dampened wax paper (plastic can also be used) . Hold the meat down on the board with one hand and with the other pound it until it is flattened evenly and thinly.

Once the meat has reached the required thinness (without breaking through the surface) you can then prepare it in multitude of ways. Veal scalopine can be cooked in butter or oil and marries well with a range of flavours - you can choose from- lemon, white wine, marsala, sherry, tomato, peppers, mushrooms, artichokes, herbs, prosciutto, cheese etc etc.

Once the meat is prepared and you have your seasonings &/or vegetables ready, it is a very quick dish to cook.

Variations: Scaloppine of Veal Hunter Style, Scaloppine of Veal with Lemon