Tasty Veal Piccata

Veal Piccata

Veal piccata typifies Italian country cooking at it's best. It’s a relatively easy dish, and combines only a few fresh ingredients prepared in a simple manner. The result is a beautiful dish of thin-sliced tender meat medallions in a tangy caper-lemon-wine sauce. (Note: chicken broth can be substituted for the white wine).

The traditional Italian version of this dish uses veal scaloppine. Scaloppine means a dish consisting of thinly sliced meat, or cutlets. Because veal is not always the easiest meat to find, I almost always use pork tenderloin instead. This cut of meat is tender and easy to work with, and lends itself well to this dish. I cut about a 1/4-inch slice off the tenderloin, and then pound with a mallet to the desired thickness and diameter. You may have to experiment a couple of times to get the cutlet size to your liking.

The term piccata denotes a caper and lemon sauce. In my opinion, the capers and lemon juice are the key ingredients in this dish, and give the sauce and meat a tangy flavor.

You can also prepare veal piccata using skinless boneless chicken breasts. Simply butterfly the chicken breasts and pound with a mallet to about 1/8-inch thick. Butterfly means to filet the breast to half thickness leaving a small hinge of meat at one end. It can then be easily pounded to 1/8-inch.

The flour used for the coating helps to thicken the caper-lemon sauce to the right consistency. Shallots or garlic can also be added with the capers and lemon juice for a subtle change of taste. To get the maximum amount of juice from a lemon without the bother of seeds, first bring the lemon to room temperature. Then roll it under your palm against the counter and pierce the skin with a fork while holding the lemon over the pan. Keep the fork in the lemon while squeezing all the juice into the pan.

To compliment this dish I like to serve it with simple buttered pasta and steamed or Italian style vegetables. I top it off with a green salad and an oil-vinegar dressing. I also normally serve a pinot grigio wine (preferably Italian) with this meal as it compliments all the flavors superbly.

Veal piccata is an Italian classic, and I love it; it is perhaps my favorite dish! Try this veal piccata recipe, and I think it will become one of your favorites too!

Prep Time: 30 min

Cook Time: 15 min

Serves: 4

INGREDIENTS

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

4 veal cutlets (about 1/8 inch thick. Pound with a mallet if they are thicker)

1 cup all-purpose flour seasoned with salt and pepper to taste

1 large lemon

1/2 cup white wine (or chicken broth if you prefer)

2 tablespoons capers

2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh parsley

DIRECTIONS

1. Place the seasoned flour in a resealable plastic bag and add the meat medallions. Shake until they are well coated. Set aside.

2. In a large skillet, heat the oil and butter until hot. Once hot, add the veal slices and cook until just golden brown, about one minute or so per side. Remove the meat to a warmed plate.

3. Squeeze the lemon juice into the pan. Add the wine or chicken broth and cook until the sauce has reduced and thickened. Taste and add salt and pepper as needed. Stir in the capers and parsley. Return the meat slices to the pan and cook briefly in the sauce to coat.

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