Pork Scaloppine

Martha Stewart Living (March 2013)

It's Sequester time here in our nation's capital.

Since last Friday, this town's been in full-on sequester mode, which means ... well, not a whole lot, really. At least not yet. Most of the cuts won't kick in for a while, and Congress still has plenty of time to retroactively undo everything.

Nobody can agree on exactly how we got here, and there's definitely no agreement about whose fault it is. And there's surely no agreeing on how to fix it.

But in these troubled times, we think there's one thing on which everyone here in D.C. -- and across this great nation -- can agree: You want some Pork Scaloppine.

As a preparation, scaloppine (or scaloppini) simply means that you take a piece of meat, pound it flat, dredge it in flour, sauté it in oil, and then cover it with a sauce. We ask you: Who wouldn't want that? (Besides, of course, our vegetarian brethren.) 

Oftentimes, scaloppine dishes are topped with a tomato-based sauce, or, in the case of piccata dishes, a sauce made of capers and lemon. Scaloppine also usually involves veal, or maybe chicken.

This dish mixes things up a bit, using pork instead of veal or chicken, and topping it with a simple sauce of white wine, capers, rosemary and sage. 

The very lightly breaded pieces of pork are wonderful, simultaneously light and satisfying. The sauce is rich and flavorful, and the briny capers really give it a nice jolt. 

Now if we could just make 536 portions of this (for every Congressional representative and senator, plus the president) and have everybody sit down at one looooong table. We're pretty sure there's no financial crisis this pork scaloppine couldn't fix.

 

 

Pork Scaloppine
Martha Stewart Living (March 2013)
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(This photo: Chris Court/Martha Stewart Living)

Active time: 30 min | Total time 40 min

Serves 6

INGREDIENTS

1 1/2 pounds pork loin, cut crosswise into 6 slices
Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper
All-purpose flour, for dredging
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided, plus more for drizzling
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided
1 tablespoon salt-packed capers, rinsed and chopped
1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary leaves
1 tablespoon chopped fresh sage leaves
1/2 cup dry white wine
4 cups arugula, tough stems trimmed

DIRECTIONS

Pound pork slices to 3/8 inch thick, season with salt and pepper, and dredge in flour, shaking off excess. Transfer to a wire rack, and let stand 10 minutes,

Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a large sauté pan over medium-high heat, and then add 1 tablespoon butter and melt, swirling to coat bottom of pan. Add 3 pork slices in a single layer and cook, flipping once, until both sides are golden brown and pork is cooked through, about 4 minutes total. Transfer to a serving platter and loosely cover with foil. Repeat.

Add capers and herbs and cook over medium-high heat, stirring, just until fragrant, less than 30 seconds. Add wine and cook until reduced by half. Stir in remaining tablespoon butter and pour sauce over pork. Add arugula to platter and drizzle with oil.