Veal Scaloppine with Lemon

A southern european cannot be away from the region's classic flavors and ingredients for too long and that is one of the reasons why there are a list of ingredients that always have a constant presence in our cooking. Elements like lemon, fresh herbs, peppers, tomato and olive oil never disappear from our pantry and refrigerator which means that, even on the less inspired days, we can serve vibrant and flavorful meals in a blink of an eye.

The recipe I am about to share with you today is a recipe that will take about 20 minutes to prepare, that will bring fresh flavors to your table, and that uses two of those "habitues" of our fridge - flat leaf parsley and lemon.

A scaloppine is a very thin cut of meat (usually veal, although chicken can also be used) coated in flour, sauteed and served with a tomato, wine, or lemon and cappers sauce (aka piccata). The sauce used at this recipe skips the cappers (and I thank Mrs. Marcella Hazan for that) and uses a beautiful lemon and parsley sauce.

For 2 servings, take 4 scaloppini and dry them with a paper towel. Put 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil and 2 tablespoons of butter into a skillet and turn the heat to medium high. When the butter foam begins to subside, coat the meat with flour, shake off the excess, and slip the meat into the skillet. Brown the scaloppini quickly on both sides - about half to one minute per side if the fat if hot enough. Transfer them to a warm plate and season with salt and pepper. 

Off heat, add 2 tablespoons of freshly squeezed lemon juice to the skillet and scrape loose the meat residues. Swirl in 1 more tablespoon of butter, the juices the meat may have rendered while in the plate and 2 tablespoons of flat leaf parsley chopped, stirring everything together. It is very common to see the scaloppini with lemon sprinkled with fresh chopped parsley instead of incorporating the herb into the sauce. I actually chose this option because I like the flavor of fresh chopped herbs but you can choose what you prefer the most. Just make sure that you do not use parsley in the sauce if you opt to sprinkle the meat with it at the end.

Turn on the heat to medium and return the scaloppini to the skillet. Turn them quickly, just long enough to warm them and coat them with the sauce. Transfer the content of the skillet to a warm serving plate, garnish with thin lemon slices (totally optional), and serve at once with rice or salad.

Twenty minutes for such a flavorful meal sounds almost like a joke. But it is not. This recipe is dedicated to all of you who usually don't cook because "there is not enough time". I don't think you will be ready to sleep, watch a movie, or whatever you do after dinner in 20 minutes if you go out to have dinner. That would probably be  the time you would wait for a table or to be served. 

Time can be such a bright ally. You just need to trust it.

Happy cooking!