Pork Saltimbocca

By
Anita Schecter
Anita Schecter_BW
Anita Schecter
Professional recipe developer, food photographer, and blogger with more than a decade of experience creating Middle Eastern recipes.
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Updated on 06/15/21
Pork Saltimbocca

The Spruce Eats / Anita Schecter
Prep: 10 mins
Cook: 10 mins
Total: 20 mins
Servings: 4 servings
Nutrition Facts (per serving)
462 Calories
27g Fat
9g Carbs
43g Protein
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Nutrition Facts
Servings: 4
Amount per serving
Calories 462
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 27g 34%
Saturated Fat 9g 45%
Cholesterol 140mg 47%
Sodium 670mg 29%
Total Carbohydrate 9g 3%
Dietary Fiber 0g 2%
Total Sugars 0g
Protein 43g
Vitamin C 0mg 2%
Calcium 21mg 2%
Iron 2mg 10%
Potassium 612mg 13%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)

The word saltimbocca means "jumps in the mouth" in Italian and refers to a dish made with sage leaves and prosciutto wrapped around a piece of meat. It's typically made with thin cuts of veal and is popular in Italian restaurants.

Saltimbocca cooks quickly in a skillet and is finished off with a pan sauce made with olive oil, butter, garlic, and white wine. After frying the pork, the flour left behind in the pan helps thicken the sauce.

As fancy as the dish sounds and looks when presented at a restaurant, it is actually a quick and easy recipe and there is no reason not to make it at home. The veal can be replaced with chicken breasts that are pounded thin. Or, as we've done here, thin cuts of inexpensive pork tenderloin hold up well to these flavors and are tender and easy to find.

If you prefer not to finish your pan sauce with white wine, go ahead and use chicken stock and add in a splash of freshly squeezed lemon juice to brighten the sauce and give it a bright flavor.

Ingredients

  • 1/3 cup instant flour such as Wondra, or all-purpose flour

  • 4 boneless pork loin chops

  • Salt, to taste

  • Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

  • 4 thin slices of prosciutto di Parma

  • 4 fresh sage leaves

  • 2 tablespoons olive oil

  • 2 tablespoons unsalted butter

  • 1 clove garlic, peeled and minced

  • 2 tablespoons white wine, or chicken stock and a squeeze of lemon juice

Steps to Make It

  1. Gather the ingredients.

  2. Add the all-purpose flour into a shallow bowl.

  3. Season the pork loin with salt and pepper. Wrap each piece tightly with one slice of the prosciutto di Parma and tuck in a fresh sage leaf. Dip the prepared pork loins into the flour on both sides, to coat.

  4. Heat the olive oil in a large skillet or cast iron pan over medium-high heat. Add the pork and press down with a spatula. Cook until golden brown on the bottom, approximately 5 minutes. Flip the pork pieces and continue cooking for another couple of minutes until the meat is no longer pink and cooked through. Transfer the pork to a platter and cover with aluminum foil to keep warm.

  5. Add the butter and minced garlic to the pan and cook for an additional minute. Add the white wine and continue cooking for another minute or two, until the alcohol cooks out. Drizzle over the pork and serve hot.

Tip

  • Wondra flour, or instant flour, is more granular and dissolves more quickly than regular flour. For that reason, it's widely used to thickening sauces and gravies. You should be able to find it in the baking aisle of most large supermarkets where the all-purpose flour is located.