A recipe from Norberto’s new chef
Kevin Jarvis. Photo by Kyle Green l The Roanoke Times
Today’s Front Burner column introduces Kevin Jarvis, the new owner of Norberto’s Italian Ristorante in Roanoke’s Grandin Village. Jarvis bought the restaurant in November from Norberto Silva, who founded it and operated it for some 26 years.
We were unable to squeeze Jarvis’ recipe in the Extra section today, so I will share it here. The recipe is for chicken or veal Francese, which features a nice pan sauce made with white wine and beef stock. To see the recipe, scroll down and click “read more.”
This recipe makes me think about pan sauces in general and how valuable it can be to know how to make a basic pan sauce. If you know how to make them, you need only keep some necessary ingredients on hand, such as port, sherry, wine, meat or vegetable stock (or bouillon), and perhaps some shallots or onion or garlic. Then, when you need to put together a quick dinner and have some protein on hand, you can whip up a pan sauce, serve it with some pasta or rice and maybe a green veggie, and you’ve got a great meal.
Come to think of it, I think this might be a good topic for another column. The possibilities really are numerous. How many of you have a favorite recipe that calls for a pan sauce? Or do you sometimes throw together a pan sauce to dress up chicken or another protein you have on hand?
Chicken or Veal Francese
Serves 4
Recipe courtesy of Kevin Jarvis, chef/owner of Norberto’s Italian Ristorante in Roanoke.
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter
2 lbs. chicken or veal cutlets, trimmed
2 eggs
1 Tbsp. heavy cream
1 cup plus 3 Tbsp. flour
3 Tbsp. flour
1/4 cup white wine
1 1/2 cups beef stock
1. In a wide, shallow bowl, beat together the eggs and cream. Place 1 cup flour in another wide, shallow bowl. Dip each cutlet in the egg wash, then dredge in flour.
2. Melt butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add meat and brown well on one side, then turn. Push meat to the outer edges of the pan.
3. Whisk 3 Tbsp. flour into the drippings in the pan to form a roux. Whisk in wine and beef stock and simmer until chicken or veal is cooked through and sauce is thickened to your liking.
March 21, 2012 - 5:30 AM
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Have to say, after being a “special occasion” visitor (anniversary’s, etc) to Norberto’s numerous times over the past couple of years, we were extremely disappointed with our most recent visit, and it will be a while before we go back. They had written our reservation down for the wrong night, which resulted in a 40+ minute wait (during which several other tables were seated before us, and we barely received an apology, let alone a “sorry we screwed up” glass of wine or anything like that), we didn’t receive the cheese/veggie platter (although I did see one of the tables that got seated during our wait got 2 of them), and never even got bread for our meal!
Little things like that put a bad taste in my mouth, especially when you go someplace that’s supposed to have A+ service. As I said, it will likely be a while before we return.
Well, that’s a bummer! I hate to hear that. When was this visit, do you recall?
I love Francese anything, and the pan sauces that go with them even more. I must admit I am intimidated by pan sauces. Not sure why because they are not difficult. They never turn out quite the way I want them to, or as they taste in a restaurant.
I know, we were so disappointed because we would always look forward to treating ourselves there. It was a couple of weeks ago, maybe the 10th?
That recipe looks amazing!!! If their other dishes are similar, I bet the food is awesome. I’d like to try it for sure!
This doesn’t exactly count as a pan sauce, but it’s something I do to add a little something to plain pasta: When cooking the pasta, add 3 chicken bouillon cubes to the pot (you can also add minced garlic or granulated garlic, if you like). Reserve about a cup (or more if you like your pasta saucy) of the cooking water when you drain the pasta. In the same pot, put in about 1/3 stick of butter, 1/2 cup sour cream and some of the reserved water. At this point, you can add some fresh herbs, if you like. Whisk until the butter is melted and everything is well blended. Return the pasta to the pot and toss. This is the amount I use for a full box of whole wheat pasta, so it’s a 13.5 oz. box. Sometimes I also add broccoli to the pasta while it’s cooking. At other times, I sautee asparagus and toss it with the pasta and sauce. It has great versatility, as you can add whatever ingredients you like.
My husband loves it and it’s a fast way to snazz up a meal.
That does sound fast and tasty, Vickie. Thanks for sharing.