Published March 1, 2008. From Cook's Illustrated.
For an easy chicken saltimbocca recipe that would keep the three key elements—chicken, prosciutto, and sage—in balance, we floured commercially prepared chicken cutlets, attached a thin slice of ham, and sautéed the cutlets ham side down to prevent the flour underneath the ham from becoming gummy and to bond the ham to the chicken, eliminating the need for toothpicks. Instead of using whole sage leaves, as in most recipes for chicken saltimbocca, we found that chopping the leaves and sprinkling them over the floured chicken before attaching the ham added well-distributed sage flavor.
Buy cutlets that are approximately 5 to 6 inches long. If the tip is too thin, trim back 1 to 2 inches to make the cutlet of uniform thickness. If cutlets are unavailable, you can make your own with four (8-ounce) boneless, skinless chicken breasts (see “Cutting Your Own Cutlets,” related content). Although whole sage leaves make a beautiful presentation, they are optional and can be left out of step 3. Make sure to buy prosciutto that is thinly sliced, not shaved; also avoid slices that are too thick, as they won’t stick to the chicken.
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