Yes, I eat veal. But not the veal that you buy at the supermarket which may or may not be raised humanely. I always get pasture raised veal from Rossotti Ranch. Luckily for me they have a booth at the Marin County Farmer’s Market on Sundays, which is only 10 minutes from my house. But, if you don’t groove on veal, you could always make this with very thinly sliced chicken cutlets as an alternative.
Since veal is one of the Rents’ favorites, I tend to do lots of scallopini meals. This turned out to be one of the best ones I’ve made! Since artichokes were in season and available at the market, I made a lovely sauce, based on my Cognac-Cream Sauce to go with the involtini. The sauce would also be great over pasta.
Fresh sage leaves and grated fontina are rolled up inside thin slices of veal, sautéd until golden, and finished in the sauce. Veal is very quick-cooking, so once the prep is done, this dish comes together fairly quickly.
My supervisor kept a close eye on things.
Veal Involtini with Artichoke Cream Sauce
Ingredients
For the Veal
- 8 Veal Scallopini
- 8 thin slices Prosciutto
- 16 Fresh Sage Leaves
- 1 cup Italian Fontina grated
- Salt to taste
- 2 tbsp Unsalted Butter
For the Sauce
- 1 tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- 2 Artichokes leaves removed, and hearts cut into ¼ inch thin slices
- 2 tbsp Unsalted Butter
- 1 Shallot finely diced
- 1 clove Garlic minced
- ¼ cup Cognac
- ½ cup Heavy Cream
- Salt to taste
Instructions
- Heat olive oil on medium heat in a small skillet and add artichoke pieces. Cook until softened, stirring occasionally, 8-10 minutes.
- While artichokes cook, place veal in between two pieces of plastic wrap and pound until very thin.
- Sprinkle each piece of veal with salt.
- Place two pieces of kitchen string under a slice of veal. Place one slice of prosciutto on top, then two sage leaves, then top with some of the grated cheese. Repeat for all 8 pieces of veal.
- Starting at the short end, roll up each slice of veal, then tie with the string. Snip off the excess string.
- Heat the butter over medium-high in a heavy non-stick skillet until just starting to foam. Add the veal and cook until nicely browned, about 2 minutes per side. Remove veal to a plate.
- Reduce heat to medium and add shallots to the skillet and cook till softened, 1-2 minutes. Add garlic and cook for 30 seconds longer.
- Add the cognac, increase heat a bit, and cook until reduced by about ½.
- Add the cream and bring to a simmer. Taste the sauce and add more salt if needed.
- Return the veal to the skillet and simmer in the sauce until heated through. Add the cooked artichokes and stir to combine.
- Place two involtini on each plate and pour sauce over the top. Serve with mashed potatoes to soak up the yummy sauce!