Chicken saltimbocca
Thin chicken cutlets wrapped in crisp prosciutto and fresh sage with a silky lemon white wine butter sauce, a real date-night plate.
- 35 min total
- 30 min hands-on
- A little more hands-on
- Serves 2
- About $5.17 a serving
- 640 calories
Dolly says: Read the steps once before you start. Everything goes smoother after that.
Ingredients
For 2 servings.
- 2 chicken breasts
- 2 sprigs fresh sage, 8 leaves picked
- 4 slices prosciutto
- 3 tbsp butter, divided
- ½ cup dry white wine
- ½ cup chicken broth
- ½ lemon, juiced
- 4 slices French bread (optional)
From your pantry
- ¼ tsp salt
- ¼ tsp black pepper
- 2 tbsp all-purpose flour
- 1 tbsp olive oil
Each serving has about 640 calories, 60 g protein, 10 g carbs and 35 g fat, and costs about $5.17 at typical US grocery prices. Both are estimates from what the recipe uses.
Missing something?
- No chicken breasts? Boneless chicken thighs or chicken tenderloins work.
- No butter? Ghee works.
- No chicken broth? Vegetable broth or bone broth works.
- No lemons? Limes work.
- No French bread? Sourdough bread works.
Steps
Tap an underlined word for a quick explanation.
each chicken breast into 2 thin cutlets, lay them between plastic wrap and pound to ¼ inch thick. with the salt and pepper and wash your hands.
Slice. Slicing means cutting food into flat pieces of about the same thickness. Even slices cook evenly, so none are raw while others burn.
How you’ll know: Lay a few side by side: they’re close to the same thickness from one end to the other.
Season. Seasoning means adding salt, pepper or spices to bring out a food’s flavor. A little at a few stages tastes better than a lot all at the end.
How you’ll know: When you taste it, it tastes bright and like itself, not flat and not salty.
Food safety: Wash your hands, the board and the knife with hot soapy water after touching raw meat, and don’t rinse raw chicken in the sink.
Lay 2 sage leaves on each cutlet, cover with a of prosciutto, and press it down so it sticks.
Slice. Slicing means cutting food into flat pieces of about the same thickness. Even slices cook evenly, so none are raw while others burn.
How you’ll know: Lay a few side by side: they’re close to the same thickness from one end to the other.
Dust both sides lightly with the flour and shake off the extra.
Heat the oil and 1 tablespoon of butter in a large over medium-high.
Skillet. A skillet is a frying pan: wide and flat with low, sloped sides. The shape lets steam escape, so food browns instead of stewing.
How you’ll know: It’s the pan you’d fry an egg in, and a 10 or 12 inch one handles most recipes.
Medium-high heat
Cook the cutlets prosciutto side down 3 minutes, until , then flip and cook 2 to 3 minutes, until 165°F inside.
Crispy. Crispy means the outside is dry, firm and crunchy. It comes from high heat, a little oil and room in the pan, because crowded food steams and goes soft.
How you’ll know: It sounds crunchy when you tap or bite it, and it doesn’t flop when you lift it.
Medium-high heatTimer: 5 min 30 sec
Dolly’s tip: Cook two at a time so they brown instead of steaming.Food safety: Chicken and turkey are done at 165°F in the thickest part. A thermometer is the only sure check. Without one, cut into the thickest piece: it should be white all the way through, with no pink.
Move to a plate.
Pour in the wine to , , and let it bubble 2 minutes, until by half.
Deglaze. Deglazing means pouring a splash of broth, wine or water into a hot pan to loosen the browned bits on the bottom. Those bits are full of flavor, and this turns them into the start of a sauce.
How you’ll know: It hisses and steams, and the bits lift easily when you scrape with a wooden spoon.
Scrape up the browned bits. It means loosening the brown bits stuck to the pan with a wooden spoon, usually right after adding liquid. Those bits are concentrated flavor, and they melt into the sauce.
How you’ll know: The bottom of the pan looks clean again, and the liquid turns darker and richer.
Reduce. Reducing means simmering a liquid with the lid off so some of the water steams away. The sauce gets thicker and its flavor gets stronger.
How you’ll know: The level drops in the pan, and the sauce coats the back of a spoon instead of running off.
Medium-high heatTimer: 2 min
Add the broth and lemon juice and 3 minutes more, until again.
Simmer. Simmering means keeping a liquid just below a boil, with small bubbles rising gently. It cooks food evenly and lets a sauce thicken without scorching on the bottom.
How you’ll know: Small, lazy bubbles break the surface every second or so, and nothing is churning.
Reduce. Reducing means simmering a liquid with the lid off so some of the water steams away. The sauce gets thicker and its flavor gets stronger.
How you’ll know: The level drops in the pan, and the sauce coats the back of a spoon instead of running off.
Medium heatTimer: 3 min
Take the pan off the heat and swirl in the last 2 tablespoons of butter until the sauce turns silky.
Dolly’s tip: Off the heat is the trick. Butter added over a flame turns greasy instead of creamy.Slide the chicken back in, spoon the sauce over, and serve with bread for mopping.
Plan this in Dollop, and get the grocery list
Dollop puts this dinner on a night that suits your week, lists only what you still need to buy, and walks you through each step while you cook.
