Ingredients:
- 4 oz. Fontina cheese
- 4 large, thin slices prosciutto
- 4 baby white veal chops, 12 oz. each including bone
- 1/2 cup flour
- 1/4 tsp. salt
- 1/8 tsp. white pepper
- 1/3 cup olive oil
- 6 oz. butter
- 1 tsp. chopped garlic
- 1 Tbsp. chopped onions
- 1/2 cup dry white wine
- 8 oz. exotic mushrooms (porcini, shiitake, or portobello, to name a few examples), sliced 1/4 inch thick
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
1. Cut the Fontina cheese into four thick, narrow, long slices. Place cheese on each chop and wrap the prosciutto around the cheese.
2. Mix the salt and white pepper into the flour, and sprinkle this on the veal chops. (Don't dredge.)
3. Heat the olive oil very hot in a large skillet. Brown the chops, two at a time, to a medium-dark, crusty brown on both sides. Remove the chops and repeat with the second two.
4. Put all four chops onto a roasting pan and into the oven at 450 degrees. Roast the chops for 12-15 minutes, until top is brown and crusty and the cheese is oozing out the sides a little.
5. After cooking all chops, pour the excess oil from the skillet, leaving only a film. Return to medium heat and add the butter, onions, and garlic, and cook until the onions are clear.
7. Add the white wine and bring to a boil, whisking the bottom of the pan to dissolve the pan juices. Reduce the wine by about half, then add the mushrooms and cook until they're soft.
8. Whisk in the whipping cream and bring to a light boil. Lower the heat to a simmer and cook for two or three more minutes to a light sauce consistency. Add salt and pepper to taste.
9. Nap the veal chops with the sauce and lots of the mushrooms.
Keene's Top Chef Competition - November 16, 2017
Gianluca Paris is the Executive Chef and owner of Luca’s Mediterranean Café, a fine dining restaurant, The Market at Luca’s, offering light bistro style fare and gourmet take out and Luca's Culinary Journey Catering in Keene, New Hampshire, where he lives with his wife Lindy and his two children. He is the recipient of many accolades, including “Excellence in Dining” and “Best Service/Wait staff” every year since 2002 from Market Surveys of America, along with “Best Mediterranean Restaurant,” “Best Fine Dining Restaurant,” “Best Caterer in New Hampshire,” and, for four years, “Best Restaurant in the Monadnock Region” from New Hampshire Magazine.