Veal Sorrentino
Veal Sorrentino is a classic dish from Sorrento, on the Amalfi Coast of Italy just south of Naples. They serve it in every restaurant there. It's less well known around New Orleans, but it's catching on. The flavor combination is hard to refuse: pounded veal, prosciutto, eggplant, and a variety of cheeses. You can make it either with a marinara souce or something along the lines of Marsala sauce. I refuse to be drawn into the irrelevant conversation as to which is "authentic." I know that it's delicious, which is good enough for me.
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Veal Sorrentino in four layers. [/caption]
- 1/4 cup flour
- 1 tsp. salt
- 1/2 tsp. pepper
- 1/3 cup grated Romano cheese
- 1 cup bread crumbs
- 2 sprigs flat-leaf Italian parsley, leaves only, chopped finely
- 2 pounds sliced baby white veal round
- 3 eggs, beaten
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 1 eggplant
- 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
- 2 cups marinara sauce (your recipe)
- 1/2 lb. prosciutto, thinly sliced
- 1 lb. sliced provolone or mozzarella cheese
Preheat the broiler.
1. Blend the flour, salt and pepper in a bowl. Combine the bread crumbs, Romano cheese, and parsley.
2. Place the veal between two sheets of plastic and pound it thin. Dust it with sprinkles of the seasoned flour. Pass the veal through the beaten egg, then dredge through the bread crumb mixture.
3. Heat the olive oil in a skillet over medium-high heat until it shimmers. Saute the veal until golden brown--only about a minute on each side, if you pounded them thin enough. Drain on paper towels.
4. Peel the eggplant and slice it across about a half-inch thick. Brush each slice with the extra-virgin olive oil, and place it on the broiler pan about three inches from the heat in the preheated broiler. Broil the eggplant slices until they brown lightly, then turn them over and broil the other side about half as long as the first side. (You can also do this step on a grill or griddle.) Lower the oven to 350 degrees.
5. To serve, spoon some marinara sauce on an ovenproof plate. Place a slice of veal on top of the sauce, followed by a slice each of prosciutto, cheese, and eggplant. Finish with a little more marinara sauce and a sprinkling of Parmigiana cheese. Two such stacks per plate make a nice entree. Put the dish in the oven until the cheese begins oozing out the sides.
Serves four to six.
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