Veal Marsala
My love for Marsala-style, like most of the inspiration on this page, goes back to my childhood. When I was finally stepping out of my dietary pickiness (cue my parents’ cheering) around age 9 or 10, Chicken Marsala was one of the first dishes I remember trying. I felt unreasonably adventurous, and absolutely loved it.
To this day, I still love and make Chicken Marsala — but my palate has grown up, and this adapts just too perfectly for tender, juicy veal scaloppine.
I complement the sweet Marsala and earthy mushrooms with salty, crisped prosciutto crumbs and herbaceous parsley. It’s the veal deal.
If you're not into veal, simply swap for thinly pounded chicken breast. Serve with either pasta or good bread, to sop up all of the extra sauce — that’s a non-negotiable.
Let’s cook!
You’ll need:
1.5 lb veal cutlets, very thin
1 lb (16 oz) baby bella mushrooms
2-3 small shallots
4 cloves garlic
3/4 c Marsala wine
1/2 c beef stock
2 oz Prosciutto di Parma, thinly sliced
1/2 c fresh parsley
1 sprig of rosemary
4 sprigs fresh thyme
6 tbsp unsalted butter
1 c all-purpose flour
Quality EVOO
Salt & fresh-cracked pepper
Makes 5-6 cutlets, with sauce for up to 1 lb of pasta.
Steps:
Clean and remove stems from mushrooms, and slice thinly. Peel and mince shallots and garlic, finely mince parsley — set aside. Preheat oven to 200° F.
Spread out flour in a shallow bowl, for dredging. Using the pointed side of a meat mallet, pound out the veal cutlets (flipping, to pound both sides) until about 1/8 in thick. Season well with salt & pepper.
Warm a large skillet over medium heat, and coat with ~1/4c olive oil. Add prosciutto slices to the hot oil, and sauté about 2-3 min per side, until nicely crisp. Drain on paper towel-lined plate, set aside.
Dredge 2 cutlets in flour, shaking well to remove excess. Add a ~tbsp of butter to the pan — place cutlets, fry for 2 min. Flip and fry for 2 min more. Repeat in batches, until all cutlets are done, adding small pads of butter as needed. When finished, keep warm in the oven on an oven-safe dish.
Add another tbsp of butter to the pan. Sauté shallots for 1-2 min, then stir in the sliced mushrooms. Cook ~5 min until soft — add minced garlic, sauté for 1 min more.
Pour in the Marsala, scraping the bottom of the pan to deglaze. Toss in herb sprigs and cook down until reduced by half. Add beef stock and 2-3 tbsp of butter — reduce heat, and simmer for 5-10 min until thickened. Just before serving, mix in the parsley.
Roughly chop the crispy prosciutto. Arrange cutlets on a platter, covering liberally with sauce and mushrooms. Sprinkle prosciutto crumbs over the top.
If serving with pasta — leave about half of the sauce in the pan, to toss with drained pasta and a generous amount of grated Parm. If not serving pasta, make sure to sop up all of that extra sauce with good bread!
