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Recipe

SALTIMBOCCA ROMANA

One of the essential ingredients of “Saltimbocca” is sage, an herb which is not native to Thailand. I have managed to grow sage from seeds on my balcony but as soon as the bush gets about forty cm high, something happens; the leaves brown, fall of, and where the stem emerges from the ground, it rots and the plant dies. Once in a while fresh sage leaves are sold in Foodland, Pattaya. Dried and what they call “Rubbed” sage is a poor substitute but failing the real thing it may do. Another ingredient which is available but also expensive, like veal, is Parma ham. If it is too much for your budget, use “Split Ham” or another raw, cured, ham which should not be too salty.
What you need is:
12 slices of veal, preferably from the upper leg. If not available twelve cubes of pork filet, about an inch square;
12 thin slices of Parma ham (prosciutto);
24 fresh sage leaves or rubbed sage;
Flour
unsalted butter;
white wine;
freshly ground pepper and salt (be careful as the ham is already quite salty).
Place the cutlets of veal or the cubes of pork filet between two sheets of plastic or wax paper and pound them gently into thin sheets. On every cutlet place a slice of ham and two sage leaves. Fold it over into crescents, press the edges or secure with a toothpick. Sprinkle with pepper and salt (see above). Dust with flour on both size. Heat about three tablespoons of butter in a skillet and sauté (six at the time, so not to crowd them or use two skillets for the another six). When golden brown on both sides, remove from skillet onto a warm serving plate and de-glaze the skillets with a dash of white wine while scraping the bottom and pour this sauce over the cutlets. Some cooks leave the cutlets closed while others remove the toothpicks and open them up so that the ham and the sage leaves are on top.
There seems to be still another recipe which incorporates Mozzarella cheese in the filling. If you use pork you may call this “Pork Cutlet Romana”