Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking - Marcella Hazan [174]
¼ pound pancetta, sliced very, very thin
5 tablespoons freshly grated parmigiano-reggiano cheese
Sturdy round toothpicks
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
Salt
Black pepper, ground fresh from the mill
½ cup dry white wine
⅔ cup fresh, ripe tomatoes, peeled and chopped, OR canned Italian plum tomatoes, cut up, with their juice
1. Trim the scaloppine so that they are approximately 5 inches long and 3½ to 4 inches wide. Try not to end up with bits of meat left over that you can’t use. It does not really matter if some pieces are irregular: It’s better to use them than to waste them.
2. Lay the scaloppine flat and over each spread enough pancetta to cover. Sprinkle with grated Parmesan and roll up the scaloppine tightly into compact rolls. Fasten the rolls with a toothpick inserted lengthwise so that the meat can be turned in the pan. If any pancetta is left over, chop it very fine and set aside.
3. Put 1 tablespoon of butter and all the oil in a skillet and turn on the heat to medium high. When the butter foam begins to subside, put in the veal rolls, and turn them to brown them deeply all over. Transfer to a warm plate, using a slotted spoon or spatula, remove all the toothpicks, and sprinkle the meat with salt and pepper.
4. If you had set aside some chopped pancetta, put it in the skillet and cook it over medium heat for about 1 minute, then add the wine. Let the wine simmer steadily for 1½ to 2 minutes while using a wooden spoon to loosen cooking residues from the bottom and sides of the pan. Add the tomatoes, stir thoroughly, and adjust heat to cook for a minute or so at a steady simmer until the fat separates from the tomato.
5. Return the veal rolls to the pan, warming them up for a few minutes and turning them in the sauce from time to time. Take off heat, swirl in the remaining tablespoon of butter, then turn out the entire contents of the pan onto a warm platter and serve at once.
Ahead-of-time note These veal rolls don’t take that long to do and they taste best when served the moment they are made. If you must make them in advance, cook them through to the end up to several hours ahead of time, then reheat gently in their sauce.
Veal Rolls with Anchovy Fillets and Mozzarella
For 6 servings
8 flat anchovy fillets (preferably the ones prepared at home as described)
3 tablespoons butter
¼ cup chopped parsley
⅓ cup canned imported Italian plum tomatoes, drained of juice
Black pepper, ground fresh from the mill
½ pound mozzarella, preferably imported buffalo-milk mozzarella
1½ pounds veal scaloppine, cut from the top round, and flattened as described
Salt
Thin kitchen twine
Flour, spread on a plate
½ cup dry Marsala wine
1. Chop the anchovies very, very fine, put them in a small saucepan with 1 tablespoon of butter, turn on the heat to very low, and while the anchovies are cooking, mash them with a wooden spoon against the side of the pan to reduce them to a pulp.
2. Add the chopped parsley, the tomatoes, a few grindings of pepper, and turn up the heat to medium. Cook at a steady simmer, stirring frequently, until the tomato thickens and the butter floats free.
3. Cut the mozzarella into the thinnest slices you can, possibly about ⅛ inch.
4. Lay the scaloppine flat on a platter or work surface, sprinkle with a tiny pinch of salt, and spread the tomato and anchovy sauce over them, stopping short of the edges to leave a margin of about ¼ inch all around. Top with sliced mozzarella. Roll up the scaloppine, push the meat in at both ends to plug them, and truss with kitchen twine, running the string once around the middle of the rolls, and once lengthwise so as to loop it over both ends.
5. Choose a skillet that can subsequently accommodate all the rolls without crowding them, put in the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter and turn the heat on to medium high. When the butter foam begins to subside, turn the veal rolls in the flour, shake off excess flour, and slip them into the pan. Cook for a minute or two, turning them, until they are browned deeply