Veal Picatta

As I have stated before, my food is a reflection of me.  As such, this dish is not low fat.  It is not cruelty free.  It is however, bright, easy going, and elegant without being fussy.

Tangy & Tasty

Servings: 6

Time:    Prep: 10 minutes; Cook: 15 Minutes

Hardware:  measuring spoons and cups, a cutting board and knives, a gallon Ziploc bag, a heavy bottom skillet (I prefer a cast iron skillet), a wooden spoon,  tongs, a plate, tinfoil, a whisk (I use a flat whisk)

Ingredients:

• 1 tablespoon olive oil (maybe more)
• 2 tablespoons + 2 tablespoons of butter
•  3 cloves of garlic
• 1 cup of flour
• 1 1b veal scalloppini (you can use chicken)
• 1 cup of chicken broth
• ½ cup of white wine
• ½ cup of lemon juice
• ½ a lemon (choose one with a nice skin)
• 2 tablespoons of capers
• 2 tablespoons of flat leaf Italian parsley
• Salt & pepper to taste

1. Wash the parsley and finely chop it.
2. Wash the lemon.  Slice half of it against its natural segmentation.  You want lemon wheels.  Remove any seeds or fibers.
3. Peel and dice the garlic.  Set all of the herbs and fruit to the side.
4. Place the flour in the plastic bag.  Put the scallopini in the bag and shake it like crazy to coat the veal.  Set aside.
5. Pre-measure all the liquids and set aside.
6. Loosely tent the plate with foil. Set aside
7. Heat the olive oil and 2 tablespoons of butter in the pan on medium high.
8. Add the garlic to the pan and cook for a minute or so.
9. Shake as much flour from the veal as possible and add it to the pan a few pieces at a time.  Don’t crowd the veal. 
10. Because it is so thin, scallopini cooks quickly.  Only allow the veal to cook for 1- 1 ½ minutes and then turn with the tongs.  Cook for another minute or so on the other side.
11. You may need to add a little more olive oil if the pan becomes dry.
12. Remove the veal from the pan and keep it warm in the tinfoil tent.
13. Turn the pan down to medium and add the liquids.  Use the whisk to deglaze the bottom of the pan.
14. Allow the sauce to simmer for about 5 minutes.  Using the whisk, stir often, scrapping the bottom and sides of the pan as you do.
15. Whisk in the remaining butter and simmer for another minute.
16. Add the lemons, parsley, and capers and allow this to simmer for 2 minutes.
17. Add the veal to the sauce and cook for another minute or so until everything is warmed through.

 To serve, place thin pasta (angel hair) on the dish.  Put one or two veal scallops and a lemon wheel on the pasta.  Spoon some sauce over the dish.  Serve with shredded Parmesan.