Older Italian cookbooks assume you know what you're familiar enough with the recipe to get the proportions right if you know what the ingredients are. For those who prefer quantities, here is a more modern recipe for Cotolette alla Bolognese, known in the English Speaking world as Veal Parmigiana:

Ingredients

• 4 veal cutlets, weighing 1/3 pound each.
• 4 thin slices fresh grana (this is the young, and therefore relatively soft version of Parmigiano;
• you may substitute a mild cheddar or Gruyere if need be)
• 4 thin slices prosciutto
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 1/2 cup finely ground breadcrumbs, toasted in the oven
• 1/2 cup tomato sauce, heated
• Salt
• Freshly ground pepper
• A little butter for the baking dish

• Prep Time: 20 minutes
• Cook Time: 20 minutes

• Total Time: 40 minutes

Preparation

Preheat your oven to 350 F (180 C)

Pound the cutlets flat, trim away any fat, and remove the membrane lest it contract while cooking. Salt and pepper the meat to taste, dip it in the beaten egg, and dredge it in the bread crumbs, pressing down to make sure the crumbs stick.

Melt the butter in a large skillet, and when it begins to crackle fry the cutlets until golden, turning them once. Transfer them to a buttered baking dish, lay a slice of prosciutto and one of cheese on each, and heat through in the oven until the cheese melts.

Spoon a little tomato sauce over each and serve hot. The wine? A zesty red, for example a good Oltrepo Pavese or a Bonarda, both of which are blends contining Barbera.