Paper Chef #18 Gotta be Saltimbocca!

Kevin of Seriously Good continues to host Paper Chef while founder, Owen of Tomatilla, takes a break. Last month's winner Haalo of Cook Everything Once judges this round.

The secret ingredients comprise veal scallopine, rocket, simple syrup and strawberry.

John, who stars as the villain in "An Electronic Restaurant", decides to take part after learning that veal makes up one of the secret ingredients. It doesn't take long for him to figure that the winner's gotta be saltimbocca! Here is John's first Paper Chef entry, a recreation of his favourite Italian meal.



Bash the veal steaks with a mallet. Brown both sides in olive oil without BURNING (a strong hint to Noodle Cook).



Add butter. Deglaze with half cup of dry white wine. Add sage. Top with proscuitto and mozerella. Braise for 20 minutes. Braise? It was Noodle Cook's fault for picking the veal steak next to the similar looking skirt steak.



Serve with buttered broiled parboiled potato, and a salad of radicchio, lettuce, dill, rocket, tomato, chilli and boccocini. Dress with lemon.

What about strawberry and syrup? Tomato is a red fruit just like strawberry, and hence the substitution. Sugar syrup? No chance of John touching the stuff: Canadians only use geniune maple syrup! The closest is the sauvignon blanc which the bottle shop recommends as the wine to match with veal. Unfortunately, the wine tastes overly sweet, like sugar syrup.

...and the obligatory taste test...

Noodle Cook gets to taste and criticise for a change. Definitely thumbs up to the beautiful flavours. Despite John's attempt to tenderise the steaks, the chewy texture remains.

Will Noodle Cook beat John in the home kitchen stadium? Perhaps. Noodle Cook's masterpiece still sits in the fridge, marinating away. Stay tuned for Part 2.