Veal Scaloppini makes a quick, tasty meal

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Quite a while ago, I received an anonymous request for Veal Scaloppini Calabrese. Now you would think this would be a pretty straightforward little number, but nooooo. As always, many good folks sent along recipes and advice – for lots of ways to cook veal scaloppini. The Calabrese part went missing somehow. I even desperately Googled it on the Web and came up with a menu from a restaurant somewhere which offered “Veal Calabrese.” The dish was described as “veal scaloppini sauteed with onion, olives and a touch of marinara in wine accented with artichokes.” Mim Hart’s letter and recipes included a definition of Calabrese, which points to a kind of broccoli!

Sigh. What to do? So I winged it. I decided that what we have here is a nifty little two-step veal recipe. Scaloppini just means thin slices of veal. Step one takes the veal cutlets, pounded thin, dipped into seasoned flour and sauteed quickly on each side, and then sets them aside while you add to the pan mushrooms and onion and garlic and stuff, which you cook until they are tender. Then you can either deglaze the pan (fancy way of saying rinsing it by cooking off the nice little stuck-on bits) with white wine or marsala or sherry, and adding cream to it to make a sauce. Then you can dump the veal back into that sauce, warm it up for a minute or two and serve it.

Or you can go to step two and add tomato sauce, and as the menu says (right), some olives, and artichoke hearts. Sometimes cheese, such as Gruyere, is involved, and even prosciutto. Some recipes say to put it into the oven for a little bit.

If you cook it in a saute pan or a generous-sized fry pan, though, and skip the oven, this is a very quick dish – done in, say, 15 to 30 minutes if you don’t horse around.

I hardly ever cook veal, so this recipe was an education. I did not see the word “scaloppini” attached to any packages of veal at the store, but I was looking for something flat and not very thick, and it came in the form of slices of leg meat. They were already pretty thin, but I pounded the thicker ones until they all matched – a little less than a quarter of an inch thick. They were also very lean.

And I have to say, I don’t think the veal all by itself was very flavorful, so all this saucing really makes the difference. I kept thinking, why veal? Wouldn’t chicken pounded flat be just as good? Or better? And certainly cheaper. Well, that is a question for you to decide.

Another ingredient note: I thought I would use the baby portabella mushrooms because I think they are a bit more flavorful than the generic white ones, and they are nice and firm. But you know, that wasn’t a terrific idea. They are also dry, and the sauce really needs that extra mushroom liquid which develops when you saute them. I don’t like canned black olives, so I always pick up some of the bulk ripe olives, so much more flavorful, many of which are now available pitted.

My thanks to Eleanor Maxim of Unity, who sagely pointed out that there is a good recipe in Fanny Farmer to use. Jean Belanger of Bangor sent along two recipes, one from her adopted Canadian mother’s recipe for the dish, and another from a friend with whom she was stationed at Charleston Air Force Base back in the ’60s. Jean writes, “Sometimes I put slices of cheese (mozzarella) and slices of prosciutto on top and put it in the oven at 375 until the cheese is melted. Canadian Bacon and Swiss cheese may be used also,” and serves it over noodles. For the one with tomato sauce, she serves rice and a salad.

Above are instructions for Veal Scaloppini A Couple Different Ways, based loosely on the selection of recipes these good folks sent along.

Send queries or answers to Sandy Oliver, 1061 Main Road, Islesboro 04848. E-mail: tastebuds@prexar.com. For recipes, tell us where they came from. List ingredients, specify number of servings and do not abbreviate measurements. Include name, address and daytime phone number.

Veal Scaloppini

Serves 4 to 5

Cream sauce:

8 scaloppini of veal

1/4 cup of flour with paprika, salt and pepper stirred into it

3 tablespoons of butter

2 tablespoons of olive oil

8 ounces of mushrooms, sliced

1 clove of garlic

1 small onion chopped

1/4 cup white wine

1/2 cup cream

1/4 cup Swiss or Gruyere cheese grated (optional)

a few slices of prosciutto, slivered (optional)

Marinara sauce:

1/2 cup tomato paste

1/2 cup cream

1/4 cup chopped, pitted black olives (optional)

Small jar of artichoke hearts chopped (optional)

Melt the butter in a large heavy saute or fry pan, and add the olive oil. Dredge both sides of veal in the flour, shake off excess and fry each at a high temperature for about a minute per side. Remove and keep warm on the side. Add the mushrooms, garlic and onion to the fat left in the pan, and cook until they are tender. Remove and set them aside when they are done. Reduce the heat to medium. Put the wine into the pan and cook up the pan brownings until the pan is cleaned.

At this point decide whether you want a cream sauce or a tomato sauce. If cream sauce, add the cream. Simmer over a low heat for a while longer just until it is slightly thickened. Return the veal and mushrooms to the pan, and heat them until they are warm all the way through. Remove to a platter and sprinkle on the cheese and prosciutto slivers. You may put this into the oven briefly to warm it, if you prefer. Serve on noodles or pasta.

If tomato sauce, add the tomato paste, dilute it a little with a bit more wine or with water, then the cream. Simmer as above, and if too thick add a little water or broth. Put the veal and mushrooms back into the pan, and simmer it very gently until all is warmed through. Serve.