Beer Versus Wine – Chicken Saltimbocca
Congratulations to September’s Beer Versus Wine Challenge winner – SAHMmelier! Part of the honor includes coming up with November’s challenge. Participants have until next Tuesday, November 18 to turn in their suggestion before we take it to a vote. Winner gets to present December’s challenge. For more on the rules, click here.
Chicken Saltimbocca
I haven’t been doing a lot of “inspired” cooking lately. Instead it has been more like, “what can I quickly throw together that is nutritious, easy, and can sit?” Between playground and homework, dishes and Legos, dinner needs to be made.
Inspired cooking happens when you have the time, minimal distractions, and the impetus to go beyond. Typically it is the weekend, when you can open a bottle of wine and lose yourself picking thyme leaves and slicing shallots. It happens when the seasons start to change and the heartier meals bring comfort. It happens when a loved one has requested something or when a birthday demands a celebration.
Last month, I was the winner of The Wandering Gourmand Beer Versus Wine Challenge and with that comes the privilege of choosing the next month’s contest. The inspiration came in the form of my husband’s birthday and his request for Chicken Saltimbocca. If you’ve had it, or looked up how to make it, you know that there are a variety of takes on this classic Italian dish. It can be veal or chicken, rolled or flat. Some people choose white wine, others use Marsala. The staples are thinly pounded meat, sage, and prosciutto. In typical form, I read through several recipes for ideas and cook times and then go with it.
I purchased thinly sliced chicken breast. The pounding is my least favorite part (don’t ask why) and when you are cooking for 9, every bit helps. I decided to use saute the mushrooms ahead of time with butter, oil, and garlic. when they were wilted, I threw in some chicken broth and marsala and let them cook a bit longer. I put the mushroom in a bowl and used the same pan for the chicken.
I dipped each filet in flour, salt, and pepper, then sauteed them in the seasoned pan with butter and oil. About 4 minutes on each side. I placed all the chicken breast on a baking sheet and covered them with sage leaves and prosciutto. I then baked them at 350 for about 10 minutes, until the prosciutto was a little crispy.
While they were in the oven, I reheated the mushroom with more broth and Marsala which I thickened with about 2 teaspoons of cornstarch.
You could take this dish in many directions. Use any of the above variations. My husband has put provolone on top. I’ve served it with sage polenta, acorn squash with braised leeks. You could do garlic mashed potatoes or French bread. Any vegetable would work, but I like a salad with a little shallot vinaigrette. The acid cuts the rich saltiness of the dish.
You outdid yourself with this one! Looking forward to sipping and tasting this weekend.
This was all SAHMmelier. I’m looking forward to experimenting myself.
Did you forget about us?
Yikes, I got so busy at work , I forgot to write something. I kept thinking I had a few more days. I’m all turned around!
Malcolm and I are going to go with a Chianti Classico with the Pinot Greigo coming in a close second. No labels, just the wine. For those of you that have been fortunate to travel to Italy, you know the Chianti is hard to beat!
This is terrible, but your comment ended up in my span and I just now found it! Of course this if after I sent out the poll and the poll won’t allow me to edit it once its live to add you. Sorry 🙁 Next month!
Ps.
Love the Friendsgiving photo of the boys!
I’m not going to lie. We’re a good looking group. At least the one on the left is (me)!
Yes, the one on the left… And all the ones on the right.
Malcolm has a similar group of friends he has known since grade school. You all are very special and privileged to have such good friends . Megs
I know Pinot Grigio is usually the suggested pairing, but that is not my jam. I’d go with a fruitier Merlot or a Barbera d’Asti. Both are great with food and prove that you don’t necessarily need to pair a white with chicken.
I agree with not having to pair white with chicken. Heck, we rarely follow any pairing rules as we prefer red to white. Occasionally one will sneak on the dinner table though.
I’m with you, Famished. I tried 3 different reds. They all worked but I had a favorite 😉
Hmmm. I’ll admit my first reaction is reach for a wine with this one, but someone needs to represent the brews so I’ll give it a try. I think a Belgian Tripel is the easy answer here, but really I want something a little different so I’d reach for Pretty Thing’s Fieldmouse’s Farewell. Its a grainy saison with a nice balancing grassy hop bitter bite. With the dish, I think the bitters will pair nicely with the sage, while the grainy malt and yeast character will blend in with the rich chicken, salty prosciutto, and earthy mushroom flavors. The saison funk, of course, will play nicely with most spices, seasoning, and vegetal flavors, too.
Mmmmm…Belgian triple. Good call.
Is it you who previously referred to a saison as the Swiss Army Knife of beers? Because it really is when it comes to food. The flavor pair well with a lot of dishes. Great suggestion!
It seems that the classic recipe calls for the dry white wine as an ingredient in Veal Saltimboca. Assuming we are taking the classic route, I would go with Marsanne/Roussanne blend or single varietal wines, especially the new world versions. California or Oregon Marsanne, served at the room temperature, often has a great earthy and savory component (sapidity), which will perfectly meld with the earthy flavors of this dish.
I’m going to have to look this one up. Your suggestion has surpassed my wine knowledge which is great because I like trying new things.
So, I opened 3 wines with it. Pinot from SBC, Chisnti, and Dolcetto d’Alba. For me, the Dolcetto was the winner. Rustic, acidic, great fruit. If I had used white wine in it, I live the idea of the nutty, round Rousanne to take the edge off the salty and compliment the mushroom and acorn squash. Cheers!
Very well thought out! I just went with what would go best from what we had on hand.
Sorry for typos! On my tablet, in a hurry.
We were up and down on what to pair as we’re not big white wine drinkers and I couldn’t think of a good beer suggestion. We have a bottle of Rose Prosecco that we almost paired, but it’s cold here. A red wine just seemed right given the weather. After a little Internet research, I read that a rustic red would go well. We paired a Chianti Classico from Gabbiano that was filled with tart red fruit that nicely washed down the saltiness from the proscuitto and the spice from the sage. The slight earthiness complemented to the light flavor of the chicken and the Marsala wine in the mushrooms. Chosen on whim, this was an ideal pairing!