Saltimbocca alla Romana

Italian for “jump in the mouth”, saltimbocca is a classic Roman dish. Surprisingly though, there are countless variations as it is quite popular in Switzerland, Spain and Greece, but the commonality across all interpretations of this timeless Italian number is the distinct peppery flavour of sage and the richness of prosciutto. Saltimbocca is a dish that will  entice a loud mmm approval at an Italian restaurant, so amazing in its vibrant simplicity you’ll end up charming the waiter to reveal the chef’s recipe. Simple, elegant and delicious!

Ingredients

Serves 4

500g thinly sliced veal cutlets (scallopini)

8-10 fresh sage leaves

150g thinly sliced prosciutto

salt and freshly ground black pepper

2 tbsp olive oil

1 tbsp butter

½ cup almonds, chopped (optional, if you like a bit of crunch)

4 tbsp liquid honey

½ cup dry white wine

Method:

1. Put the veal cutlets side by side on a sheet of plastic wrap. Season well, with salt and pepper. Rub each cutlet with a sage leaf, pressing hard on the meat.  Lay a piece of prosciutto on top of each piece of veal and cover with another piece of plastic. Gently flatten the cutlets with a rolling pin or meat mallet, until the pieces are about 1 cm thick and the prosciutto has adhered to the veal.
2. Remove the plastic wrap and place a sage leaf on the top of prosciutto, weave a toothpick in and out of the veal to secure all the layers.
3. Heat the oil and 1 tablespoon of the butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Drop in a few more sage leaves used for rubbing the meat. Put the veal in the pan, and cook for 2-3 minutes flipping the pieces often to crisp up. You can leave the sage leaves in or fish them out at this point as they are quite aromatic.
4. Stir in the chopped almonds (if using), heat them up to let out the almond scent, then add honey and mix well. Add the wine, stirring to bring up all the delicious flavour from the bottom; let the wine cook down for a minute to burn off some of the alcohol. Swirl the pan around, pouring the sauce over the meat, and let simmer for just a minute.  
5. Transfer the saltimbocca’s to a serving platter, take out the toothpicks, and serve immediately.

Piroške (Pirozhki)

Originally a Russian deep fried treat, pirozhki are quite a popular snack food in Central and East Europe, and even parts of Asia. The name derived from the Slavic word ‘pir’ which means a banquet or a festivity. Today, as all foods that travelled across borders and settling into regional cuisines, pirozhki appear in several different forms with a variety of fillings. But all recipes seem to have one thing in common; this baked or fried stuffed bun always turns out into a successful crowd pleaser. My grandmother used to make piroške filled with potato and bacon as a side to a thick creamy spinach soup. Then, my cousin and I would dunk piroške in the soup, instead of using our spoons, mopping our plates clean. Nowadays, baked piroške filled with cottage cheese are a favourite snack on kids play days. Beside happy smiles all around the table, they also ensure for a good 10 minutes of blessed peace and quiet while kids munch away, swinging their legs under their chairs.

Ingredients:

Yields 12-14 pieces

Dough:

500g plain flour

7g (1 tbsp) active dry yeast

1 tsp salt

250ml (1 cup) milk, warm

50g butter, melted

Filling:

250g cottage cheese

50g butter, melted

1 tsp salt

Topping:

100ml sour cream 

2 eggs

Method:

1. Put all the flour in a big mixing bowl and make a well in the centre. Add yeast into the well and pour in the warm milk. Mix the yeast and milk lightly and leave for 10-15 min for the yeast to activate.
2. Add rest of the dough ingredients into the flour and mix well. Place on a wide surface and knead into soft dough (the dough should be slightly greasy and elastic, so do not add any more flour). Return dough into the mixing bowl and leave to rise in a warm place, for about 20-30 minutes. Now, combine all ingredients for the filling.
3. When the dough is doubled in size, place again onto a wide surface and roll out into a 1 cm thick, very long rectangle, spread half a filling mixture and fold the rectangle over in half. Roll out again, pressing gently and spread the other half of the filling; fold over again. Pinch the edges to secure the filling inside. You should end up with approx. 15 cm wide and about 30-40 cm long rectangle.
4. Cut the dough in stripes (about 2 cm wide) and twist twice while holding the top edges together and place into a baking tray, lined with baking paper. This part can get a bit messy with cheese oozing out, so gently push the cheese back in without squashing the piroške down. Leave space between them as they will expand during baking. When all the piroške are lined in a tray leave them for another 20 minutes in a warm place to rise a bit.
5. Mix the ingredients for the topping and brush all the piroške generously with the mixture. Bake for about 30-40 minutes in a preheated oven on 180*C.
6. Serve warm, or cold. They will keep well in an airtight container for a couple of days.

Maultaschen (Schwabian Pasta Parcels)

Legend has it that in the 17^th century, a resourceful monk at the Maulbronn monastery sought to conceal his appetite for meat during the Lent, so he mixed the meat with spinach and wrapped it in noodle dough to hide it from God, hence the nickname ‘Herrgottsbescheißerle’ (God Cheaters). Maultaschen became wildly popular in Germany and were traditionally served on Maundy Thursday and Good Friday. My paternal grandmother used to call them ‘taschkerle’ in her Eszekerisch slang and would fill them with a mix of spinach and leftover sausage meat, then cook in beef broth and serve with boiled potatoes dredged in fried onions. Whether just boiled, fried in lard or geschmälzt (cooked and folded into fried breadcrumbs) – this Swabian specialty is irresistibly delicious.

Ingredients

Serves 4

Dough:

2 cups plain flour

2 eggs

4 tbsp cold milk

Salt

Filling:

300g bratwurst sausage mix

200g spinach, blanched and finely chopped

½ cup bread crumbs

1 egg

Marjoram, pinch

Pepper, pinch

Nutmeg, half a pinch

100g smoked bacon, finely diced

1 egg white

2-3 cups beef stock

Method:

1. Prepare noodle dough by kneading flour, eggs, a pinch of salt and water; roll out very thinly. Mix together the sausage meat, parsley and egg. Blanch spinach, drain, chop finely and add to the meat mixture. Season with salt, pepper, marjoram and nutmeg. Braise diced, smoked bacon and add to mixture.
2. Cut dough into 15 cm squares and spread a liberal amount of filling on them. Brush edges with egg white; fold squares over to form triangles and secure edges tightly, press the edges with a back of the fork to seal the filling inside.
3. Simmer the parcels in hot broth for about 10-15 minutes (do not boil).
4. Serve in broth, sprinkled with chopped parsley. If you have any leftovers the next day, cut the Maultaschen in stripes, reheat on the bed of fried onions, and serve with boiled potatoes.

Note: By old German tradition the serving suggestions are as follows: on Holy Thursday, serve them in broth. Fry them in fat and onion on Good Friday. And if any remain, bake them on Saturday with a little cheese and serve with potato salad.