What to serve with "Costoletta alla Valdostana"

[CindyJ]

For dinner tonight I'll be making veal chops stuffed with fontina. It's sauteed and then finished in the oven. I'm trying to figure out what side dishes will go well with it. Any suggestions? Thanks.

[roxlet]

Polenta, and then an Insalata mista afterwards

[CindyJ]

Is it customary to serve salad afterward in northern Italy?

[roxlet]

Yes, salad, unless it is a 'composed' salad, which more likely would be served for lunch, is always served after the primi, or main course. It is never served as an "antipasto," the way it is usually served in the US.

[mnosyne]

Perfect!

[lilgi]

Really? I wouldn't serve polenta with veal and cheese, without cheese is a different matter.

[c oliver]

That sounds perfect. The last couple of years (thanks mmruth) I've turned to an arugula salad with shaved Parm, good oo and vinegar, s&p a lot with a dish like that one. I've also been doing thew's recipe for oven-baked polenta which makes it all really easy.

[lilgi]

I like what Ellen suggested with a light vinaigrette, and maybe a little starch on the side like farinata.

[EllenMM]

Something green - with a bite. Brocolli rabe? Arugula salad?

[CindyJ]

I was thinking along those lines, too. Maybe kale and canellini beans.

[lilgi]

If you decide to do the vegetable with the veal and cheese which would be elegant and complement the dish very well, think of the farinata as a piece/chunk of crouton. I would have suggested a little focaccia but you said dinner was for tonight ;)