Saltimbocca alla Romana

When a large pan comes in handy

Last month we were joking with a couple of Finnish friends about Livia’s Scandinavian meal time. She has always had a stable routine, something we cannot take credit for, but recently, since she started nursery school, she is relying even more on a strict timetable. And we are very happy to comply.

We were used to going with the flow, having dinner somewhere between 7 pm and 10 pm: even though I spend all day in the kitchen, I would start thinking about dinner just when I could feel the pangs of hunger. Now dinner is at 7 pm sharp: Livia is ready on her high chair, her glass of water arranged at her left on the marble table - she is methodic, have I told you this? - a huge plastic bib hopelessly protecting her clothes.

I had to learn to be quick, efficient. I dug into my cooking repertoire to come up with recipes that could really be made in 10 minutes, the time she's busy munching on a tarallo.

This is when the idea of making saltimbocca alla Romana for dinner literally jumped to my mind. I might have to wait a little longer to prepare saltimbocca for Livia, though I am sure she would not complain, but they are perfect for Tommaso and me.

Let me know in the comments if you have easy, quick, efficient recipes to share: I am sure we will all benefit from a recipe brainstorming, to vary our crazy meal routine in our super busy lives!

So, here’s the recipe. I’m sure you’ll be just as quick to try them and add them to your cooking repertoire.

Saltimbocca alla romana - Veal scaloppini with ham and sage

The literal translation of saltimbocca is “jump in the mouth”: yes, this is what they really do when you have them on your plate: you would eat them with just one bite, they are irresistible.

The following recipe is adapted from Ada Boni’s recipe for saltimbocca alla Romana, as written in Il Talismano della Felicit๠(1929).