The one I had already planned – hence the trip for the ham in the first place. Dinner is:

Veal saltimbocca.

(Veal, you say? How can I have planned a veal meal when i only just bought the escalope, you ask? The truth is that yes, unfortunately I succumb to these deals FAR too often, and so had another veal escalope in the fridge from yesterday’s deal section! And one escalope each is vastly superior to one between two… )

Saltimbocca literally means ‘jump into the mouth’ in Italian. The sagey, prosciutto flavours are so very tantalising, stunning in the simplicity of the taste, and are brought out beautifully by a dash of marsala.

Although you CAN cook saltimbocca with thin beef steaks, veal is so beautiful. And I think we should eat more veal (that is, if you are a meat eater! I’m not going to bash any veggies over the head with an escalope until they finally cave in). Whilst the process behind ‘white’ veal, and to a certain extent ‘red’ veal is terribly cruel, this practice has been outlawed in the UK, so as long as you are careful about your veal supplier, you are getting rose veal or free-raised veal (the best, most caring slaughter process). And calves are unfortunately a necessary by-product of the dairy industry. (So perhaps I should take back my excusal of veggies?!) If you want a dairy cow to keep providing milk, she has to calve once a year. Although the female calves grow up to be milkers, the male calves are of little use to a dairy farmer. These are the majority of the veal industry. And the ‘they’re only babies!’ excuse doesn’t hold much water either. A rose veal or free-raised veal is slaughtered between 24-35weeks old, where even the best quality chickens are normally slaughtered around 60 DAYS old, and cheaper, more dubitably sourced birds much sooner than that. So, rant over. Young calves are slaughtered anyway, so why not eat them? As long as they are reared responsibly, I see no reason not to.

Veal Saltimbocca, with soft polenta and a rocket salad:

(Thanks to Elizabeth David’s ‘Italian Food’ book)

INGREDIENTS:

1 veal escalope per person
thin, raw ham such as parma ham, prosciutto or Serrano (I piece per escalope)
2 sage leaves per escalope
175ml marsala
knob of butter
polenta
(chicken) stock
2 handfuls rocket

METHOD:

After giving the ecalopes a bashing (I put them loosely between two sheets of clingfilm and use the flat back of a pan or large spoon to give them a whacking), lay a sheet of prosciutto, or whatever ham you want to use, on the escalope. Lay on two leaves of sage (more if you fancy). Then roll them up, and put a toothpick through each roll. Put them in the fridge if you have pre-prepared them – either way, 30mins in there would do them no harm, allowing them to relax in their rolled-up form.

So, they are rolled and ready to fry for tea later.

When you’re ready, measure out your polenta as suggested on the packet. I like to cook polenta IN something, as the taste can be quite bland – so, to the rescue, comes 2 chicken stock cubes from the freezer! With approx. four times the weight of (boiling) water to polenta, I plopped in my 2 concentrated, homemade chicken stock cubes (which dissolve pretty immediately) and allowed my polenta to simmer. Then get your veal on.

To fry them, put a slice of butter (20g or so) into a frying pan, and let it melt. Cook your veal (toothpick-free, hopefully they will hold their shape for you now!) until well browned,and then pour a small glass of marsala over them. Here is where my method differs from Elizabeth David’s: she suggests you leave the marsala to bubble for one minute, then cover your pan and cook for 10-15 minutes. For me, this is too long a cooking time, so I cook until the marsala is very much reduced, uncovered, and then serve.

With a lovely spoon of hot, soft polenta, with the saltimbocca on top, I add a handful of rocket – a nice, peppery contrast to the softness, sweetness and saltiness of the saltimbocca and polenta. Of course, make sure you drizzle the cooking juices over the rocket!

So there you have it, the fiancé was fed. Now…time to crack on with my other ingredients!