Veal Scaloppine Sandwiches

The original breaded, fried veal and veggies on a white bun was easily transformed using the Italian Scaloppine style of cooking. Herb- and garlic-rich tomato sauce forms the base for the veal as well as the sauce for the sammie.

Author:: Tara Mataraza Desmond
Publish date:: Apr 1, 2013

4 to 6Servings

Ingredients

2 medium green bell peppers, stemmed, seeded and cut into 1/2-inch strips
2 portobello mushroom caps, sliced into 1/2-inch strips
1 small eggplant, quartered and sliced into 1/2-inch pieces
1 medium red onion, thinly sliced
1 tbsp plus 2 tsp extra-virgin olive oil, divided
2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1/4 tsp kosher salt
1/4 tsp fresh ground black pepper
1/4 cup whole-wheat flour
2 lb boneless veal cutlet (often called leg round), sliced and pounded very thin
1 28-oz can no-salt-added whole Roma tomatoes (or no-salt-added diced or crushed tomatoes)
3 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
5 large basil leaves, chopped
2 sprigs fresh oregano, leaves chopped
1/2 cup loosely packed parsley, chopped
4 to 6 soft whole-wheat ciabatta rolls or a whole-wheat baguette sliced into pieces
2 oz part-skim mozzarella cheese, grated

Preparation

Preheat oven to 375 F.
Combine peppers, mushrooms, eggplant and onion in a 13 x 9-inch baking dish. In a small bowl, whisk together 1 tbsp oil, vinegar, 1 tbsp water, salt and black pepper. Pour oil-vinegar mixture over vegetables and toss to combine. Cover baking dish loosely with foil or a glass lid and transfer to oven. Roast vegetables for 30 to 45 minutes, until they are tender.
While vegetables roast, prepare veal and sauce: Put flour in a shallow baking dish and dredge each piece of veal in it, shaking off excess.
Brush the bottom of a large saute pan over medium-high heat with remaining 2 tsp oil. When pan is hot, add veal and cook each side for 2 minutes. You may have to cook veal in batches to avoid crowding the pan: Transfer first cooked batch to a plate and add a little water to the hot pan to deglaze it, scraping bits up from the bottom as water sizzles. Pour the liquid on top of the cooked veal and start again with the next batch. Divide oil accordingly for batch cooking.
Once all veal is cooked and removed from pan, pour juice from canned tomatoes into pan and scrape bits from the bottom as the juice sizzles. Add garlic and saute until just fragrant, about 30 seconds. Pour tomatoes into pan and crush them with a fork or potato masher. Stir in 1/4 cup water and herbs. Return veal to pan, tucking it in to the sauce. Cover pan and lower heat to simmer the sauce until vegetables are done.
Slice rolls in half. Put a piece of veal on bottom half of each roll and top with a pile of roasted vegetables. Spoon sauce on vegetables, sprinkle cheese, top with other half of roll and serve. If desired, return sandwiches to the hot oven for 1 to 2 minutes to melt cheese.