INGREDIENTS: Makes about 4 to 6 servings
	4 medium boneless chicken breasts (about 1 lb/500 g total), without skin
	16 sage leaves, more for garnish
	4 thin slices prosciutto (about 3 oz/90 g)
	4 tablespoons/60 g/2 oz butter
	1 cup/250 ml/8 fl oz full-flavored red wine
	salt and pepper

1. Trim any fat from the chicken. On the non-skin side of each chicken breast you will find a long whitish sinew which must be stripped out with a small knife. If the loose tenderloin is adhering to the breast, sever it. Lay the breast flat on a chopping board and cut 3 diagonal slices, or 4 if the tenderloin has been removed. Repeat with the remaining breasts. Pound the slices with the flat of a large knife. Lay a few slices on a sheet of plastic wrap on the chopping board.

2. Trim fat from the prosciutto slices and cut each one in 4 pieces. Put a sage leaf on each piece of chicken and top with a piece of prosciutto. Cover with plastic wrap, pound to press the prosciutto into the chicken meat, then peel off the wrap. Prepare the remaining saltimbocca in the same way. They can be prepared up to 6 hours ahead and refrigerated, ready to sauté at the last minute.

3. Heat half the butter in a frying pan and, when it has stopped sputtering, add a few of the saltimbocca to the pan, prosciutto side down. Sauté over medium heat until brown, about 1 1/2 minutes. Turn and brown the other side, about 1 minute longer. The chicken should no longer be pink in the center, but don’t overcook it or it will be dry. Transfer the saltimbocca to a warm platter and keep warm while frying the rest.

4. When all the saltimbocca are cooked, add the red wine to the pan and bring to a boil, stirring to dissolve the pan juices. Reduce 3 to 5 minutes until slightly thickened to a glaze. Add the remaining butter in small pieces, swirling the pan over low heat so the butter softens and thickens the sauce slightly without melting to oil. Taste, adjust the seasoning and spoon it over the saltimbocca. Decorate the platter with sage sprigs for serving.

What Wine
To Cook and to Drink: Amarone is the richly concentrated, noble cousin of Valpolicella, that charming, Beaujolais-like red from the Veneto region of northeastern Italy. Pressed chiefly from the same grape, corvina, and grown in the same vineyards, Amarone differs because the grapes are dried over four to five months before being pressed and fermented. Amarone may be hard to come by and its price may make you hesitate to use it for cooking. A robust fruity red such as a Californian syrah or an Australian shiraz will do well as an alternative

This Recipe of the Month selection comes from Anne Willan's newest release: Anne Willan Cooking With Wine (2001) published by Harry N. Abrams, Inc. in association with COPIA: American Center for Wine, Food, and the Arts.