The other night we had our friends over for dinner, and decided to do something I can't believe I hadn't yet done: recreate my all-time favorite dish from my family's bell weather Italian restaurant in New Jersey. It was Franco's (Montvale, NJ) every Friday (at least that's how my rose-tinted memory sees it from my youth), and we never needed to look at a menu. My mom and sis always has the Eggplant Rollatini (it was a special,; he even made it for them when it wasn't on the menu), my dad would usually get the special that night (he trusted Franco's taste), or the Veal Parmigiana, and my order was.... Veal Pillows. Just the sound of those 2 words together puts my salivary glands in a state of euphoria... The key to this entree is the layering of flavors and textures just so: breaded veal cutlets, prosciutto, ricotta, marinara, and mozzarella, in that order, from the bottom up.
For my rendition, I opted for chicken in place of veal, to appease the masses, but the results were still fairly exceptional. There's a lot going on in each bite: a little crunch from the bread crumbs (I use Panko), the tenderness of the white meat, the salty prosciutto, the creamy ricotta, the slightly sweet and acidic tomato sauce (I used Putannesca), and the melty mozzarella......... heaven, and on a Monday night no less!
I urge you to try this dish...maybe it becomes one of your favorites, too! Just make sure to give the credit to Franco!
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