Veal Piccata

About This Veal Piccata Recipe

The Italian word scaloppine, when applied to red meat, means a thin slice cut across the grain of the fillet of a round of veal, mutton or beef. Scaloppine is the plural and diminutive form of scaloppa which translates to escalope in English. In the US the word is commonly spelled as scallopini.  

The thinly sliced veal is usually prepared with a delicious sauce and piccata is one of the most popular ones. It is made with white wine, lemon juice, butter, and capers.

The classic piccata veal scaloppini dish we are making here is known in Italy as scallopine di vitello de limone or scaloppine al vino bianco or simply piccata di vitello de limone. 

NOTE: Technically, in terms of the actual cut, scallopini are identical to the veal cutlets used to make schnitzel. You can ask your butcher to slice them for you and  The meaning of each word is largely the same, schnitzel is just the popular breaded and fried preparation in Austrian cuisine and in the German food tradition.

Ingredients for Veal Scaloppini Piccata Sauce

• Besides thinly sliced veal you will need salt and pepper to season the cutlets and a bit of flour to dredge them in so they can form a crispy outside. 
• For the vibrant, piquant sauce you will need traditional Southern Italian ingredients - light white wine, lemons (for slices and juice), capers in brine (drained), chicken stock or base, butter (to give the sauce a silky texture in the end) and Italian fresh parsley. 

TIP: The advantage of using chicken base with a bit of water instead of chicken stock is that the latter does take longer to reduce. With the chicken base you can add less water by volume and significantly cut the simmering time required to thicken the sauce. 

Recipe Video

Step-by-Step Instructions

There are two distinct parts to preparing this dish - first you cook the scallopini and then you prepare the piccata sauce (while keeping the veal cutlets warm).

Prep. Pat try the veal pieces. If they have not been sliced really thin and tenderlized, cover them with plastic and lightly pound them with a meat mallet over a cutting board. This will thin them out and tenderize them. 

Season. Sprinkle both sides with salt and pepper. Dredge the cutlets, shaking off any excess flour and place them on a plate, ready to cook.

Pan-fry. Over medium heat melt the butter and olive oil and working in batches cook the scallopini for about 2 to 3 minutes per side, depending on how large they are cut. Transfer them to a platter and keep them warm (you can either place them in a 180 F oven or on the stove top lightly tented with foil.

TIP: Alternatively, to speed things up, you can use two side by side skillets and stove burners and simultaneoulsy cook the veal. In this case you will need extra butter and olive oil for the second skillet. 

To make the sauce for veal piccata use the same pan in which you cooked the cutlets. 

Deglaze. Add wine to the skillet and gently scrape all the brown bits from the bottom. Allow the wine to simmer to reduce by half. 

Make the base. Add the chicken stock to the reduced wine or add the chicken base and about three quarters of a cup of water. Mix well. Add the lemons and simmer for a minute or two (if using stock simmer longer to reduce the liquid). 

Finish the piccata. Once the sauce has thickened, add the butter, fresh lemon juice, and capers. Stir, simmer for a minute and fold in the chopped parsley. Take away from the heat.  

What to Serve with Veal Piccata

Before you pour the sauce over the warm, cooked scallopini, arrange them on a serving platter so there is a slight overlap between pieces. Alternatively, plate individually.

Traditional sides that go well with this Italian favorite are:

• pasta - thin, long noodles preferred
• mashed potatoes - garlic flavored ones taste particularly good in combination with the zesty sauce, so do these buttery champ potatoes
• rice - simple boiled long grain rice, fluffed with a fork
• couscous - prepared with chicken stock if possible
• vegetables - try this white asparagus recipe or these easy broccolini