"Let's Eat!"

I took the classic Veal Saltimbocca recipe and adapted it for chicken. Unlike other Saltimbocca preparations I finely diced the sage and put it between the chicken breast and the prosciutto. Make sure that the chicken breast is butterflied and pounded to approximately 1/4″ or it will be undercooked.

You will need:
Boneless, skinless chicken breast (1 per person)
Prosciutto (one or two thin slices per chicken breast)
Fresh Sage
Unsalted butter
Olive Oil
Dry white wine ( I used an unoaked chardonnay)
Tomato Paste
Salt & Pepper
Flour

Preparation:
Place chicken breast flat side down on a clean cutting board. With a sharp boning knife carefully butterfly the breast at it’s thickest part. Place chicken breast between two lightly oiled sheets of plastic wrap and pound until it is approximately 1/4″ thick, repeat with all breasts being used. Finally chop fresh sage, chop enough to dust all breasts. The amount of sage used depends on your particular taste but beware that you can overpower the chicken if you use too much. Lightly dust the breast with flour shaking off excess flour. Sprinkle chopped sage over one side of the breast and season with salt and pepper to taste. Place prosciutto slices over chopped sage (use enough to completely cover chicken breast.

In a sauté pan large enough to hold all the breasts heat butter and olive oil. When the oil/butter starts to foam gently place chicken, prosciutto side down, into sauté pan. Sear for approximately five minutes or until you notice a change in color of the chicken around the edges. Turn chicken over and sear on second side for another five minutes. Remove chicken from pan and hold, covered on a warm plate.

Pour off any excess fat from pan and add white wine to deglaze (use about one quarter cup of white per chicken breast). Put one table spoon of tomato paste/chicken breast and swirl/stir until tomato paste dissolves and colors the wine. Drop two or three tablespoons of cold butter into wine/tomato paste combination. This procedure is called mounting the sauce. When butter is completely dissolved return chicken and any juices to the pan. Heat thoroughly (about 5 minutes). If your chicken breast is thicker than 1/4″ it will take a little longer for the chicken to cook through. You can use a meat thermometer (it should read no less than 160 degrees Fahrenheit.

I serve this with thin spaghetti with olive oil and garlic.

*Alternately you can use veal instead of chicken. Ask your butcher for veal for scallopini and follow recipe.