La Costoletta del Curato Image Used Under Creative Commons License From pinterest.com
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
PrintThe Hirshon Veal Chop of the Priest – La Costoletta del Curato
Ingredients
- The following 18 herbs – minced and enough combined to equal 2/3 cup in a proportion that you like most:
- Use more of these:
- Basil
- Chervil
- Mint
- Chives
- Marjoram
- Italian Parsley
- Use a modicum of these:
- Tarragon
- Borage
- Dill
- Celery Leaves
- Oregano
- Nepitella (a wild Italian mint)
- Thyme
- Use less of these:
- Sage
- Fennel Fronds
- Ramp Leaves
- Mustard Leaves
- Dandelion Leaves
- For Cooking:
- 3–4 tbsp olive oil
- 4 veal cutlets, about 180g/ 1/2 pound each
- Sauce:
- Mixed fresh herbs from above
- 4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 50g mild mustard
- juice of 1/2 lemon
- salt and pepper
Instructions
- To prepare the sauce, put the herbs in a mortar and pound with the pestle, dribbling in the extra virgin olive oil gradually as you reduce the herbs to a paste. Add the mustard, lemon juice, and salt and pepper to taste; mix well.
- Heat the olive oil in a large frying pan, add the veal cutlets and fry for about 6-8 minutes on each side until cooked. Spread the cold herb sauce on top of the cutlets and serve at once.
