:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc()/20250630-SEA-ChickenSaltimbocca-FredHardy-HERO-7ce98c791620437aba2f79e653521cdc.jpg?ssl=1 "The One-Pan Italian Hen Dish You may Wish to Make Weekly")
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Why It Works
- Frying sage leaves earlier than searing the rooster infuses the oil with earthy, fragrant taste.
- Beginning the rooster prosciutto-side down offers the meat full contact with the pan, guaranteeing it crisps evenly.
- Including flour to the pan sauce thickens it simply sufficient to coat the rooster.
Hen saltimbocca tastes like one thing you’d order at a candlelit trattoria, however it comes collectively in beneath an hour—crisp, saucy, and full of daring, savory flavors. Salty prosciutto, sharp lemon, aromatic sage—every chunk of the rooster and its silky pan sauce lingers. The identify saltimbocca actually means “jumps within the mouth,” and that is precisely what this dish does. It is a meal that delivers punchy flavors, various textures, and a cultured presentation, all from a single skillet in beneath an hour.
In Rome, saltimbocca is a basic secondi, historically made with skinny slices of veal topped with sage and prosciutto, secured with toothpicks, and rapidly sautéed in butter or olive oil. A splash of white wine deglazes the pan, making a easy but assertive sauce. Over time, the dish has traveled and advanced, particularly in American kitchens, the place rooster is commonly used as a extra accessible and inexpensive substitute for veal. This model, developed by my colleague Jasmine Smith in our Birmingham, Alabama check kitchen, captures the character of the unique whereas streamlining the recipe for weeknight ease.
Jasmine begins with flippantly pounded rooster breasts, seasoned and topped with sage leaves, then draped with skinny prosciutto slices. As an alternative of utilizing toothpicks to carry all the things in place, she presses the prosciutto firmly onto the meat—it sticks simply positive, and you do not have to hunt for toothpicks in your kitchen cupboards, nor do you must fear about eradicating toothpicks after the dish is cooked. She additionally locations the rooster prosciutto-side down within the scorching skillet first. Beginning with the ham-side flat towards the new pan ensures even contact from the get-go, serving to it adhere to the rooster’s flat floor and brown uniformly earlier than the rooster begins to contract and curl. The result’s a crisp, savory layer that stays put and delivers a extra constant sear.
Flour does double obligation right here: A fast dredge helps the rooster brown, whereas a contact extra flour added to the pan after searing helps thicken the sauce simply sufficient to cling to the meat. The sauce itself—a balanced trio of white wine, rooster inventory, and lemon juice—is brilliant and bracing.
After which there’s the sage. Some leaves go beneath the prosciutto, infusing the rooster with their piney, peppery aroma. The remainder are fried briefly in olive oil till they’re crisp and seem like stained glass, turning into an fragrant, crunchy garnish that lingers on the palate.
Critical Eats / Frederick Hardy II, Prop Stylist: Christina Daley, Meals Stylist: Margaret Dickey
This one-pan meal comes collectively in beneath an hour, however tastes like one thing you’d linger over at your favourite Italian restaurant. Serve it with one thing easy, equivalent to roasted potatoes or garlicky greens, and do not forget to cross just a few lemon wedges on the desk. It is elegant, fast, and simply would possibly enter your weekly dinner rotation.
This recipe was developed by Jasmine Smith; the headnote was written by Laila Ibrahim.
The One-Pan Italian Hen Dish You may Wish to Make Weekly
Cook dinner Mode
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2 medium boneless, skinless rooster breasts (about 6 to eight ounces every; 170 to 227 g every) (see notes)
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1 teaspoon (3 g) Diamond Crystal kosher salt; for desk salt, use half as a lot by quantity
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1/2 teaspoon freshly floor black pepper
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16 massive contemporary sage leaves (4 g), divided
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4 skinny slices prosciutto (about 1 1/2 ounces; 43 g complete)
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3 tablespoons (45 ml) extra-virgin olive oil
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1/2 cupplus 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour (about 2 1/2 ounces; 71 g), divided
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2 tablespoons unsalted butter (28 g)
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1/3 cup (80 ml) dry white wine
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1 cup (240 ml) selfmade rooster inventory or store-bought low-sodium rooster broth
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2 teaspoons (10 ml) contemporary lemon juice from 1 lemon
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Lemon wedges, for serving
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Working with one rooster breast at a time, place rooster breast on a chopping board. Maintain it in place with the palm of your non-cutting hand, and use a pointy knife to slice rooster horizontally into two even cutlets. Repeat course of with remaining rooster breast. Cowl every breast half with plastic wrap, and use a meat mallet or rolling pin to pound to 1/2-inch thickness.
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Season rooster on either side with kosher salt and pepper. Permit it to sit down at room temperature for quarter-hour. Place 2 sage leaves on every breast and prime every breast with a slice of prosciutto, urgent to stick. Trim prosciutto edges in order that they do not overhang from the rooster, if wanted.
Critical Eats / Frederick Hardy II
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Line a small plate with paper towels. In a big stainless-steel, forged iron, or carbon metal skillet, warmth 2 tablespoons oil over medium warmth till shimmering. Add remaining 8 sage leaves, prepare dinner, basting sometimes, till bubbles subside and sage leaves turn out to be crisp, 30 to 60 seconds. Utilizing a slotted spoon, switch leaves to ready plate. Set skillet apart (don’t wipe out).
Critical Eats / Frederick Hardy II
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In a shallow dish, equivalent to a pie plate, place 1/2 cup (2 1/4 ounces; 64 g) flour. Warmth oil in reserved skillet over medium-high warmth till shimmering. Working with two rooster items at a time, flippantly dredge rooster in flour, and shake off extra. Place rooster in scorching oil, prosciutto-side down, and prepare dinner, undisturbed, till nearly cooked via, flippantly browned, and rooster edges flip white, about 3 minutes. Flip rooster, and prepare dinner till flippantly browned on second aspect and an instant-read thermometer inserted into thickest a part of rooster registers 160°F (71°C), about 2 minutes. Switch rooster to a big plate; repeat with remaining 1 tablespoon of oil and a couple of rooster items. (Don’t wipe out skillet).
Critical Eats / Frederick Hardy II
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Add butter to drippings in skillet, and soften over medium-high warmth. Whisk in remaining 1 tablespoon flour; prepare dinner, whisking continuously, till combination is easy and colour darkens to deep blond, 30 to 60 seconds. Whisk in wine and simmer, stirring sometimes and scrapping backside of skillet to loosen any browned bits, till lowered by half, about 1 minute. Add inventory and lemon juice; prepare dinner over medium warmth, stirring sometimes, till combination thickens sufficient to coat the again of a spoon, 4 to five minutes. Take away from warmth.
Critical Eats / Frederick Hardy II
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Divide rooster amongst 4 plates; spoon sauce evenly over rooster. Prime with crispy sage, and serve with lemon wedges.
Critical Eats / Frederick Hardy II
Tools
Meat mallet or rolling pin, massive stainless-steel, forged iron, or carbon metal skillet, slotted spoon
Notes
You should utilize 4 store-bought rooster breast cutlets as an alternative of complete rooster breasts, however pounding your individual ensures even thickness and extra dependable cooking.
Make-Forward and Storage
The rooster may be ready with the sage leaves and prosciutto via step 1 as much as 1 day upfront, then dredged and cooked simply earlier than serving.
Hen saltimbocca is greatest eaten straight away, however may be safely saved in an hermetic container within the fridge for as much as 4 days.
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