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Veal Scaloppine with Broccoli Rabe and Lavender

As quick as a stir-fry, this is my go-to fast food. My take on veal scaloppine uses ham, Riesling, and, best of all, lavender. The floral herb is similar to sage and works beautifully here. I prefer the aroma of the tiny purple buds on the flowers, but if you can’t find those, the leaves work well, too.

Recipe information

  • Yield

    Serves 4

Ingredients

Kosher salt
12 ounces broccoli rabe, trimmed
4 very thin slices traditionally smoked ham
4 (4-ounce) pieces veal scaloppine (1/4-inch-thick cutlets)
Freshly ground black pepper
All-purpose flour
Grapeseed oil
1 1/2 cups dry Riesling
6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/4 teaspoon picked lavender flowers or finely chopped leaves

Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Fill a large bowl with ice and water. Generously season the boiling water with salt and add the broccoli rabe. Cook until just tender, about 5 minutes. Drain and immediately transfer to the ice water. When room temperature, drain again and pat dry with paper towels. Cut into 3-inch lengths.

    Step 2

    Place 1 slice of ham on top of each veal cutlet. Slip between sheets of plastic wrap. Use a meat mallet to gently pound the ham into the veal. Lightly season with salt and pepper, then dredge in flour until completely coated.

    Step 3

    Fill a large skillet with oil to a depth of 1/4 inch. Heat over high heat until very hot; it should shimmer. Shake excess flour off a scaloppine and slide into the pan, ham side down. Cook until golden brown and crisp, about 2 minutes. Carefully flip and cook for 5 seconds more. Drain on paper towels. Repeat with the remaining scaloppine, replenishing and reheating oil between batches as needed.

    Step 4

    Drain all of the oil from the skillet. Add the Riesling and butter and cook, stirring, over high heat until emulsified, golden, and reduced to the consistency of a glaze, about 3 minutes. Season lightly with salt.

    Step 5

    Add the broccoli rabe to the sauce and cook, tossing gently, until well coated and warm.

    Step 6

    Arrange the veal, ham side up, on serving dishes and top with the broccoli rabe and sauce. Season with pepper and sprinkle the lavender flowers over the top.

Reprinted with permission from Home Cooking with Jean-Georges: My Favorite Simple Recipes by Jean-Georges Vongerichten with Genevieve Ko. Copyright © 2011 by Jean-Georges Vongerichten; photographs copyright © 2011 by John Kernick. Published by Clarkson Potter/Publishers, an imprint of the Crown Publishing Group. All Rights Reserved. Jean-Georges Vongerichten is one of the most influential chefs in the world, having single-handedly redefined haute French cuisine, lightening and refining it by adding select Asian accents. He is the chef-owner of dozens of restaurants in fourteen cities around the world. His flagship restaurant, Jean Georges, at New York's Columbus Circle, is one of six restaurants in the United States to have been awarded three coveted Michelin stars; it received four stars from the New York Times. The winner of multiple James Beard Foundation awards, he lives in New York City and Waccabuc, New York, with his family. Genevieve Ko is a cookbook author and the senior food editor at Good Housekeeping magazine. She has written for Martha Stewart Living, Gourmet, and Fine Cooking and lives in New York City with her family.
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