Pork Chop Saltimbocca

6 Smart Points/Pork Chop * 2 Smart Points/Polenta

 

There isn’t very much particularly Roman about Saltimbocca alla Romana except perhaps for its inclusion on 99.99% of the city’s menus. It’s pan sauce almost French in technique, fashioned from white wine and butter (not here, my weight watching friends) and Prosciutto di Parma front and center both point North. Popular lore has it travelling from the region of Brescia near Parma with the sheep to central Italy as the herder-tribes settled in the Seven Hills outside the city. However, it was first mentioned in print in a famous book by celebrated chef Pellegrino Artusi in 1891 where he gives an anecdotal recipe for a very good version of the dish he ate at the Roman trattoria “La Venete.”

Now an inescapable part of the culinary fabric of the great city, Saltimbocca poetically translates to “jump in the mouth.” Originally cooked with paper thin veal cutlets or scaloppini, outside of Rome it is possible to find chicken or pork cutlets standing in. Most always served with potatoes roasted with rosemary and olive oil, it’s also perfect with grilled vegetables, creamy mashed, or even polenta as I offer below. Beyond simple, these versatile polenta “rounds” make a great side to most meats and can be topped with almost anything. Substitute bold salty Pecorino, a few sprinkles of crispy bacon bits, and pile on the coarsely ground black pepper for a nod to another Roman classic…Spaghetti alla Carbonara.

 

Pork Chop Saltimbocca

Makes 4 chops and ¾ cup sauce, Serving 4

Per chop with 3 tablespoons sauce: 6 Smart Points

 

4 slices prosciutto (about 2¼ to 2½ ounces total)

8 to 12 leaves fresh sage

4 (5 ounce) boneless lean pork chops, trimmed of most visible fat

¼ cup dry white wine

¾ cup low-sodium chicken broth, 1 tablespoon reserved

1 tablespoon corn starch

 

Lay a slice of prosciutto on a clean work surface. Arrange 2 to 3 leaves of sage across the center, depending on size. Season a chop with freshly ground black pepper and lay it over the sage crossways. Carefully fold each exposed end of the prosciutto over the chop as if wrapping a present. Repeat with the remaining prosciutto and chops and set aside.

Spray a large skillet with non-stick cooking spray and preheat over a medium flame. Lay the prepared chops, seam side down in the pan, careful not to overcrowd. Sauté for 6 minutes then flip each chop and continue to cook 6 minutes more. Remove to a plate and loosely tent with foil to keep warm.

Add the wine to the pan and work the bits stuck to the bottom of the pan up with a spatula or wooden spoon. Add the broth and continue to simmer a few minutes more to reduce the sauce by about a quarter. Meanwhile, in a small bowl add the reserved 1 tablespoon broth to the cornstarch and mix well to create a “slurry.” Be sure to work out any lumps.

Take the pan off the burner and slowly whisk in the cornstarch “slurry.” Return the pan to the flame, increase the heat to medium high, and continue to whisk constantly. Taste for salt and pepper and adjust seasoning. When sauce bubbles, it is at it’s thickest and ready to serve. Whisk the juices that have pooled at the base of the plate that the chops have been resting on into the sauce and serve each chop with about 3 tablespoons of sauce, mashed or roasted potatoes, polenta, or grilled veggies.

 

 

 

Parmesan Polenta Rounds

Makes 8 rounds, serving 4

Per 2 rounds: 2 Smart Points

 

1 (16-ounce) tube of fat free pre-cooked polenta (see HINT)

Olive oil flavored non-stick cooking spray

4 teaspoons grated Parmigiano-Reggiano or Pecorino Romano cheese

Coarsely ground black pepper

 

 

 

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.

Cut the polenta evenly into 8 slices. Coat both sides with the non-stick spray and arrange evenly on a baking sheet. Sprinkle each round with ½ teaspoon Parmigianino or Pecorino and a few grinds of black pepper.

Bake for 15 to 20 minutes until slightly golden brown. Using a thin spatula, carefully transfer to serving plate.

 

HINT: You will find refrigerated tubes of pre-cooked polenta in the produce section of most markets. Just be sure it is the plain, fat free variety.