Saltimbocca alla Romana

Saltimbocca alla Romana is thin veal escalopes topped with sage and prosciutto, pan-fried and finished in a butter-and-white-wine sauce. The name means "jump in the mouth," and the dish earns it: it comes together in minutes and disappears just as fast.

What it actually is

A thin veal escalope is topped with a fresh sage leaf and a slice of prosciutto, pinned together with a cocktail stick or simply pressed to make it stick, then dusted lightly with flour. It's pan-fried briefly on the veal side first, then briefly on the prosciutto side, before the pan is deglazed with white wine and finished with a knob of butter to build a quick, glossy sauce.

The whole dish depends on speed: veal this thin overcooks in under two minutes, so it's a last-minute dish, never one that sits and waits.

How it's served

• Straight from the pan, sauce spooned over, usually two or three pieces per plate.
• With a simple side — sautéed spinach or plain potatoes — nothing that competes with the sage and prosciutto.
• As soon as it's made; a saltimbocca held even briefly loses the crisp edge on the prosciutto.

Writing it on a menu

• Flag the gluten from the flour dusting and sulphites from the wine.
• Note the pork in the prosciutto plainly.
• Say if it's made with veal specifically, since a chicken or pork version sometimes appears under the same name and is a different dish.
• Mention that it's cooked to order, quickly; it's a poor candidate for a busy kitchen trying to batch ahead.