It’s spring! The markets are flush with fresh tender asparagus. The season and the vegetable inspired me to create a new recipe: Scaloppine with Aspargus and Two Sauces. It’s a relatively simple recipe but creates a luxuriant and elegant dish.
For the scaloppine (thin-sliced cutlets), you can use veal, turkey, or chicken. In the photos below, I decided to splurge and use veal. However, any of the choices make a toothsome dish.
The Cheese Sauce
Melt butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Whisk in flour, and cook for a few minutes without coloring. This is your roux.
The roux.
Add a pinch of salt to milk in another saucepan and heat until hot. Whisk the milk into the roux until well thickened.
Hot milk in roux.
Add 1/2 a bay leaf to the sauce and simmer a few minutes.
In a small bowl, beat 1 egg yolk with some heavy cream. By droplets, whisk about 1/4 cup of the hot sauce into the egg mixture to warm it and help to prevent curdling the egg.
Warming the egg and cream.
Return all to the saucepan, and simmer for a couple minutes. Add a generous grinding of nutmeg and a pinch of cayenne.
Pour egg mixture into hot sauce.
Fold in 1/3 cup of grated Fontina Val d’Aosta and blend until melted. Remove the bay leaf, then set aside.
Fold in the Fontina.
Asparagus
I find that thin, young asparagus works best for this dish. Trim any woody ends from the spears and wash. Blanch in salted water for a few minutes, just until barely tender.
Blanching the asparagus.
Remove and refresh the asparagus under cold water. Dry them on paper towels, and set aside.
Scaloppine
Pound the scaloppine thin with a mallet or rolling pin between two layers of waxed paper. Dry the scaloppine on paper towels and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Place some flour onto a plate and dredge the scaloppine in the flour.
Dredging scaloppine in flour.
Shake off the excess flour. I find this is best done in a sieve.
Shaking off excess flour.
Heat some butter and olive oil in skillet. When the foam subsides, quickly brown the scaloppine, about 2 minutes per side.
Sautéing scaloppine.
Remove to a platter and keep warm.
Wine Sauce
Either dry Marsala or Madeira are your best choices for Scaloppine with Asparagus and Two Sauces. Marsala is, of course, the more Italian, while the Madeira is more French, despite its origin off the coast of Portugal. Deglaze the skillet with the wine and some beef broth. Boil down rapidly until its reduced to a syrupy consistency.
Off the heat swirl in some butter, and continue stirring until well blended.
Adding butter to wine sauce.
Assembly
Place the scaloppine slices on a broiler pan. Cut the asparagus spears to match the length of the scaloppine. Divide the spears evenly, and place on top of the scaloppine.
Asparagus on top of scaloppine.
Spoon the cheese sauce over the scaloppine, enrobing them.
Sprinkle the remaining grated Fontina over the cheese sauce.
Enrobing scaloppine with sauce and cheese.
Run briefly under a hot broiler, just until the cheese begins to brown.
Gratinéed scaloppine.
Serving
Spoon a pool of wine sauce onto each serving plate. Place the gratinéed scaloppine on top of the wine sauce.
I like to pair Scaloppine with Asparagus andTwo Wine Sauces with Italian Red Rice.
