Scaloppine ai funghi (Scaloppini with Mushrooms)

Besides being a fixture of restaurant menus, I’d venture to say scaloppine dishes may well be the most quintessential secondi piatti in everyday Italian cookery. That should come as no surprise. They’re quick and easy to make and, with their use of thin cutlets, fairly economical, too. And yet they’re also very tasty, even if the cutlets are typically veal, pork loin or chicken breast, none of which have a lot of flavor on their own. But like pasta, scaloppine are a great example of the Italian genius for using a fairly bland main ingredient as a foil for a flavorful sauce. 

Scaloppine ai funghi, scaloppini enhanced with the woodsy flavor of mushrooms, is particularly lovely in the colder months. The recipe is simplicity itself: You sauté thinly sliced mushrooms in olive oil and butter with a glove of garlic—a technique known as trifolati—then set them aside while you brown lightly floured cutlets in the same skillet. Once the cutlets are browned on both sides, you deglaze the skillet with white wine, then add back the mushrooms. Toss it all together with a pinch of minced parsely for color and you’re ready to serve. If you’re in the mood, a splash of cream adds some extra richness. The whole process takes 15 minutes or less.

As quick and easy as they are to make, scaloppine ai funghi have a certain elegance about them, so you could serve them as the main course for a special occasion, as well as a quick weekday dinner. And with their mushroom garnish, you don’t need a side dish aka contorno. But if you wanted one, you could serve it with buttery mashed potatoes or, for a lighter meal, a green or mixed salad on the side.

Ingredients

Serves 4-6

For the mushrooms trifolati:

• 500g (1 lb) mushrooms, thinly sliced (see Notes)
• 1-2 cloves of garlic, slightly crushed and peeled (or 1-2 shallots, finely minced)
• Olive oil
• A knob of butter
• Salt and pepper

For the veal:

• 1 lb veal cutlets (or pork loin, turkey or chicken breast—see Notes)
• all purpose flour, q.b.
• olive oil
• butter
• white wine

To finish the dish (optional):

• A few sprigs of fresh parsley, finely minced
• A glug of heavy (double) cream (about 1/2 cup)

Directions

In a large skillet, sauté the garlic in olive oil mixed with a knob of butter over gentle heat until it just starts to brown around the edges. Remove the garlic and discard.

Turn up the flame to medium-high and add the sliced mushrooms. Sprinkle the mushroom slices with a pinch of salt. This will cause the mushroom to exude its juices. In just a few minutes, the juices will evaporate and you will begin to hear the mushrooms start to sizzle. Continue to sauté the mushrooms, tossing from time to time, until they have lightly browned. Set aside.

Take your cutlets, cover then in parchment or wax paper, and pound them gently with a meat pounder or the back of a small skillet to flatten them a bit. Then flour them lightly.

In the same skillet where your sautéed your mushrooms, add a drizzle of olive oil and another knob of butter. Lay in your cutlets, making sure they are well spaced. (Proceed in batches in need be.) Brown them over a lively flame until they are lightly browned on both sides, perhaps a minute or two per side.

Add a good slash of white wine and let the cutlets simmer for a few minutes, turning them from time to time, until the wine has thickened into a velvety sauce.

Add back the sautéed mushrooms, along with the minced parsely if using, and mix everything together. If using the cream, add it now and let it thicken to your liking.

Serve immediately, with an additional sprinking of minced parsley if you like for color.

Notes

Veal and its substitutes

Traditionally you’d make scaloppine ai funghi with veal cutlets, cut from the loin against the grain. The loin is a wonderfully tender cut, and cutting against the grain makes them even more tender. That said, where I live currently, I have to make due with cutlets from the leg cut with the grain. Not nearly as tender as the loin, though a good pouding per the instructions above helps. Ah, well. I count myself lucky to find veal at all these days.

Pork loin is a very common and more affordable substitute for veal. Here in the US, thin cut pork “chops” cut from the loin against the grain, are actually pretty easy to find. They need a good pounding to thin them out but they make quite acceptable scaloppini. Another common subtitute for veal is thinly sliced turkey breast. And, of course, North Americans love their chicken cutlets, which take very well to this treatment. (A side note: Judging at least from the food media, chicken cutlets—once a rarity—also seem to be catching on in Italy.)

Prepping the veal

Bear in mind, the pounding is important for several reasons. First, obviously, it flattens the cutlet which produces a better balance in the taste between the meat, mushroom and sauce. Second, it tenderizes the meat. And third, especially if you’re dealing with meat cut with the grain, it helps avoid the cutlet curling up on you as it sautés. But do be gentle, in particular when it comes to the delicate flesh of turkey or chicken. You want to break up the connective tissue but not actually mash the meat.

And, finally, don’t skip the flouring. You might be tempted if you’re trying to go low carb, but flouring is really essential to the dish. First, it helps browning. Second, it provides the liasion for the sauce, lending it creaminess even without the optional cream. And third, often overlooked, is the lovely slightly ‘slippery’ mouth feel it provides for the cutlet itself. If you’re familiar with Chinese cookery, it’s a little like velveting meat for a stir fry.

Mushrooms

The classic choice of mushroom for making scaloppine ai funghi are porcini aka cèpes. They have a fabulous flavor and texture. But they are ery expensive if you can even find them. (I can only find them dried where I live.) Even it Italy, given their expense, many recipes will just call for funghi champignon, the term Italians use for button aka white mushrooms. Some will call for cremini, which is often marketed in North America as “Baby Bellas“. I find them superior to ordinary white mushrooms, with a firmer texture and a bit more flavor, though honestly once cooked the difference is quite subtle. In the end, really any kind of mushroom you like will work just fine.

Fun fact: White mushrooms, cremini aka Baby Bellas and portobellos are all the same species of mushroom, the Agaricus bisporus. White mushrooms are the youngest, cremini slightly older. And when they are fully grown they are called "portobellos".

Variations

Besides adding cream or not, the main variation in recipes comes in the order in which the main ingredients are prepared. In some recipes, you brown the cutlets first, then add the mushrooms to the same skillet. I prefer the mushrooms first approach. It seem to me it better ensures that the mushrooms get properly browned. But I doubt the difference is all that dramatic.

You can also take part of the mushrooms and purée them with cream, which you add at the end. I haven’t tried this variation, but if you really want to go all in on the mushroom flavor, it might be worth a try.

Making ahead

Scaloppine ai funghi is at its best when you make it right before eating. And the dish so quick and easy that’s really no bother. You can, of course, sauté the mushrooms ahead for convenience. In a pinch, you could even make the whole dish ahead and gently re-heat it with a few drops of water or a splash of cream. It won’t be quite as good but still perfectly acceptable,.

Print Recipe

Scaloppine ai funghi (Scaloppini with Mushrooms)

Ingredients

For the mushrooms trifolati:

• 500 g 1 lb mushrooms, thinly sliced (see Notes)
• 1-2 cloves of garlic slightly crushed and peeled (or 1-2 shallots, finely minced)
• Olive oil
• A knob of butter
• Salt and pepper

For the veal:

• 1 lb veal cutlets or pork loin, turkey or chicken breast—see Notes
• all purpose flour q.b.
• olive oil
• butter
• white wine

To finish the dish (optional):

• A few sprigs of fresh parsley finely minced
• A glug of heavy double cream (about 1/2 cup)

Instructions

• In a large skillet, sauté the garlic in olive oil mixed with a knob of butter over gentle heat until it just starts to brown around the edges. Remove the garlic and discard.
• Turn up the flame to medium-high and add the sliced mushrooms. Sprinkle the mushroom slices with a pinch of salt. This will cause the mushroom to exude its juices. In just a few minutes, the juices will evaporate and you will begin to hear the mushrooms start to sizzle. Continue to sauté the mushrooms, tossing from time to time, until they have lightly browned. Set aside.
• Take your cutlets, cover then in parchment or wax paper, and pound them gently with a meat pounder or the back of a small skillet to flatten them a bit. Then flour them lightly.
• In the same skillet where your sautéed your mushrooms, add a drizzle of olive oil and another knob of butter. Lay in your cutlets, making sure they are well spaced. (Proceed in batches in need be.) Brown them over a lively flame until they are lightly browned on both sides, perhaps a minute or two per side.
• Add a good slash of white wine and let the cutlets simmer for a few minutes, turning them from time to time, until the wine has thickened into a velvety sauce.
• Add back the sautéed mushrooms, along with the minced parsely if using, and mix everything together. If using the cream, add it now and let it thicken to your liking.

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