Saltimbocca with roasted vegetables

I had to use up the left over veal that I had bought for my fancy dinner, but didn't want to repeat the recipe. I found this idea in my new favorite cookbook: Cuisine d'été (Summer cuisine) that I bought at the grocery store for 3€. It's just super. It's organized by meal themes (about 24 different themes) each with its own selection of several cocktails, amuse-bouches, entrées, plats and desserts. So beautifully presented, simple using summer produce.

A note about cookbooks:

I have about 5, and they all have one thing in common - every single recipe has a picture! I don't see the point in having a cookbook unless there is an image to inspire you, to give you an idea of how to serve it, and to get your mouth watering.

So, I perused my new awesome cookbook and chose a veal recipe. I had everything in my fridge which made it fun and easy to whip up for sunday lunch. It was delicious and very muched impressed Arnaud. My favorite part was the cold roasted vegetables. They had a fabulous flavor and tasted so summery. They went really well with the veal too.

Veal Saltimbocca

for 2 people. Saltimbocca is Italian for "jumps in your mouth". You can use this recipe with chicken breasts too, if you get sad about baby cows.

• 4 thin slices of lean veal per person
• 4 slices coppa (italian ham)
• 4 very thin slices of pecorino or parmesan cheese
• several sprigs of flat-leafed parsley or sage
• 2-3 cloves garlic

Preheat oven to 150°C 300°F

Place the veal slices in cling wrap and pound till very thin (I don't have a meat "hammer" or whatever its proper name is, so I use the bottom of a mug which works...kind of). Salt and pepper the veal.

Layer the the veal then the coppa, ending with the a slice of cheese (you should use a vegetable peeler to get a nice even and thin slice) and some parsley or sage. Roll up like and tie with string (or toothpicks) to hold it all together.

Heat a few Tbsp olive oil in a frying pan. When the oil is very hot, brown the saltimboccas on all sides (2-3 minutes per side). Remove the veal from the pan and place in a small oven proof dish.

Peel the cloves of garlic and crush with the flat side of a big knife. Place in dish with veal.

Pour a half cup of water in the frying pan you just used to deglace (don't lose those flavor bits of veal on the bottom of the pan!). Turn on high heat, and scrape pan with a wooden spatula. Reduce sauce. Pour sauce over veal and place the dish in the oven for 15 minutes.

Serve hot with pasta or roasted vegetables. Very impressive!

Roasted vegetables

Again, barely a recipe. But they turned out so well that I promptly went out and bought more eggplant and zucchini to repeat the experience. I love the slightly carmelized flavor the eggplant skin has when its grilled really well. Apparently, the hint is high heat and long roasting to get a good flavor. And plenty of salt, since both of these vegetables tend to be a little bland.

• 1 medium eggplant
• 1 medium zucchini
• 1 red bell pepper
• salt
• olive oil
• rosemary

If you don't have a barbecue, preheat oven to 210°C 410°F

Wash your vegetables. Thinly (very very thin!) slice the eggplant. Using a vegetable peeler, make zucchini "ribbons" by peeling the thing to death. Cut pepper in half.

Cover a large cookie sheet with wax paper (really important, especially for the eggplant. It will stick otherwise). Spread vegetables on paper. Brush or spray with olive oil, salt and sprinkle with rosemary. Place in oven for 40 minutes, turning them over after 20 minutes. Remove from oven when everything is starting to grill and the peppers' skin starts to blacken.

Place zucchini and eggplant in a serving bowl and refrigerate until cool (you can add a few cloves of garlic here, for flavor). Place the bell peppers in a medium plastic ziplock bag for 15 minutes.

Remove from plastic and peel away skin (putting them in plastic helps to sort of "steam" off the skin and makes peeling much easier). Cut into thin strips and add to the other vegetables.

Toss with a tsp of olive oil and serve cold.