Savory Sage Saltimbocca Chicken & Caprese Salad
As I age, I find that my appetite slows down during summer. The foods I love to eat take a back seat during the hot and humid summer months, here, in the south. In my teens, twenties and thirties, I loved to down bbq ribs, chicken, steaks, burgers and dogs with potato salad, pasta salad and and all the trimmins'. Now, in my mid sixties, that ain't happenin'. Sensible, lite foods and portions of summer delectables is important to me now. Ribs and chicken are still important, but again, as I age, I am not into cave man amounts of it during this heat. With that in mind, I present to you one of my summer classics: Savory Sage Saltimbocca Chicken and Caprese Salad. Let's get to this easy, quick meal, shall we?
Ingredients for Saltimbocca
4+ thin sliced chicken breasts, trimmed
4+ fresh sage leaves
1 tablespoon butter
4 tablespoons evoo (extra virgin olive oil)
salt and pepper
* lemon zest and juice
***Normally wine and capers are part of this, but for summer, I am leaving that out for my own dish. You can go as traditional as you wish! 😊
Caprese Salad Ingredients
2+ steak tomatoes, sliced into four discs
1 ball of mozzarella, sliced into four discs
8 large fresh basil leaves + small leaves for garnish
3 tablespoons evoo
2 tablespoon aged balsamic vinegar to drizzle
*I trimmed the thin sliced chicken breasts into squarish rectangles and marinated them in evoo, lemon juice and lemon zest, white wine vinegar, mirin, salt and pepper. You do not have to do that, as it is just a thought. You could slice the lemon into discs and top the chicken with it to add amazing flavor.
Let's get to the chicken saltimbocca.
Add salt and pepper to both sides of the chicken.
Drizzle four tablespoons of evoo to a skillet over medium-high heat and the butter. When the oil begins to ripple, add the chicken and let it sear about four minutes. When you turn it over, the cooked side should have a golden crust to it. Place a fresh sage leaf to the uncooked side and finish turning it over. Also allow this side to sear another three or four minutes. Reduce the heat and allow it to finish low and slow for about eight minutes.
Finish on reduced heat, low and slow, for eight to ten minutes.
Remove the chicken and allow it to rest after about eight minutes on low heat.
Caprese
As mentioned in the ingredients column above, slice the tomatoes and mozzarella into discs. Place a tomato down, place a fresh basil leaf atop it, then mozzarella, and repeat the process. I create two rows on a dish if I am serving it family style. You can make as much as you like, and serve it on a huge platter, as I did at a grad party I catered (Thank You, Mrs. D!!!) or on a personal dish for one or two. Finally, drizzle a little more evoo atop the cheese and tomatoes and top that off with a nice drizzle of aged balsamic vinegar, or your favorite balsamic vinegar.
My plating is not spectacular here, I know, but it worked fine. I made a simple Parmesan pastry twist to go along with it. I placed a circle of Parmesan on parchment paper, then sliced pastry dough thinly and twisted it. I placed shaved Parmesan atop the twist and baked it for eighteen minutes at 375-degrees. Not pretty, but well worth it. I love Parmesan crisps. I had added Italian dry seasoning and pepper to the Parm circle. Delicioso!
From my garden yesterday. ❤
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