The Hirshon Italian Veal Chop of the Priest – La Costoletta del Curato

Citizens! I, the Olympian ideal that is your leader, the almighty TFD, have a profound reverence for heritage Italian recipes – and this is a doozy! 🙂

I documented this recipe from Antonio Carluccio’s UK website years ago in my secret recipe codex and it is a good thing I did, as it is no longer available!

If you aren’t familiar with Antonio:

Commendatore Antonio Carluccio is an OBE, OMRI and a much loved and respected Italian cookery writer, cook, restauranteur and food expert. He was raised in the rural North West of Italy; this gave Antonio a rare and privileged breadth of culinary knowledge. It was here, in Piedmont, at the age of seven that Antonio started his life-long past-time of hunting and collecting mushrooms and fungi with his father.

Antonio was appointed Commendatore by the Italian Government in 1998 for services rendered to Italy, the equivalent of a British knighthood. He also received an OBE from The Queen in 2007 for services to the catering industry.

As (previously) noted on antonio-carluccio.co.uk:

In Italy, as we know, the clergy treat themselves proverbially well. You will find this recipe on the restaurant menus in Orvieto during May, when wild herbs are available in the fields. It was a challenge for me because the exact ‘mixture’ is apparently a secret. The only known fact is that there should be at least 18 herbs. Gather together as many as you can find, but go easy on the more pungent varieties.

I have selected 18 herbs that I think best complement the veal and match the spirit of this dish. You can certainly use fewer than 18 herbs – just call it “Veal Chop of the Novice Priest” instead. 😉 By all means, feel free to substitute different herbs if you are so inclined to make this simple and delicious dish your own! You don’t have to be a priest or member of the clergy to enjoy this! 😉

Battle on – The Generalissimo