The One-Pan Italian Hen Dish You will Wish to Make Weekly

July 2, 2025

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Why It Works

Frying sage leaves earlier than searing the hen infuses the oil with earthy, fragrant taste.
Beginning the hen prosciutto-side down offers the meat full contact with the pan, making certain it crisps evenly.
Including flour to the pan sauce thickens it simply sufficient to coat the hen.

Hen saltimbocca tastes like one thing you’d order at a candlelit trattoria, but it surely comes collectively in below an hour—crisp, saucy, and full of daring, savory flavors. Salty prosciutto, sharp lemon, aromatic sage—every chunk of the hen and its silky pan sauce lingers. The title saltimbocca actually means “jumps within the mouth,” and that is precisely what this dish does. It is a meal that delivers punchy flavors, assorted textures, and a refined presentation, all from a single skillet in below an hour.

In Rome, saltimbocca is a basic secondi, historically made with skinny slices of veal topped with sage and prosciutto, secured with toothpicks, and rapidly sautéed in butter or olive oil. A splash of white wine deglazes the pan, making a easy but assertive sauce. Over time, the dish has traveled and advanced, particularly in American kitchens, the place hen is commonly used as a extra accessible and inexpensive substitute for veal. This model, developed by my colleague Jasmine Smith in our Birmingham, Alabama check kitchen, captures the character of the unique whereas streamlining the recipe for weeknight ease.

Jasmine begins with evenly pounded hen breasts, seasoned and topped with sage leaves, then draped with skinny prosciutto slices. As a substitute of utilizing toothpicks to carry all the pieces in place, she presses the prosciutto firmly onto the meat—it sticks simply fantastic, and you do not have to hunt for toothpicks in your kitchen cupboards, nor do it’s important to fear about eradicating toothpicks after the dish is cooked. She additionally locations the hen prosciutto-side down within the sizzling skillet first. Beginning with the ham-side flat towards the new pan ensures even contact from the get-go, serving to it adhere to the hen’s flat floor and brown uniformly earlier than the hen begins to contract and curl. The result’s a crisp, savory layer that stays put and delivers a extra constant sear.

Flour does double obligation right here: A fast dredge helps the hen brown, whereas a contact extra flour added to the pan after searing helps thicken the sauce simply sufficient to cling to the meat. The sauce itself—a balanced trio of white wine, hen inventory, and lemon juice—is brilliant and bracing.

After which there’s the sage. Some leaves go beneath the prosciutto, infusing the hen with their piney, peppery aroma. The remaining are fried briefly in olive oil till they’re crisp and seem like stained glass, changing into an fragrant, crunchy garnish that lingers on the palate.

Critical Eats / Frederick Hardy II, Prop Stylist: Christina Daley, Meals Stylist: Margaret Dickey

This one-pan meal comes collectively in below an hour, however tastes like one thing you’d linger over at your favourite Italian restaurant. Serve it with one thing easy, reminiscent of roasted potatoes or garlicky greens, and remember to cross a number of lemon wedges on the desk. It is elegant, fast, and simply may enter your weekly dinner rotation.

This recipe was developed by Jasmine Smith; the headnote was written by Laila Ibrahim.