Another Italian Favorite!

AKA Braciola or Brazole and pronounced as such, although the ‘Z’ has a soft sound.

I am on a real Italian kick! I don’t think I’ve ever made Braciole before so did a lot of looking online for recipes and selected a little of this and a little of that from each recipe and came up with this one, which is not completely traditional, but close. As with so many “classic” dishes there are many variations. Some recipes use prosciutto or salami for stuffing inside, but I chose pancetta in the filling, as I love the fat and beautiful flavor. I also thought the pancetta would lend a juicier final product, and it did. I chose to use Round Steak as it is already cut thin (about 1/8 inch) and is in individual serving sizes. You may also use flank steak for one big roll, sirloin pounded thin, or veal. Some recipes even use pork, but I would think that is more like a Porchetta, which I am making next week! Herbs may also vary, but parsley is essential.

The flour-bin, top right, was my grandmothers.

Ingredients:
4 slices Top Round Steak*
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
Enough Pancetta to cover the meat slices in one layer
3/4 cup Panko bread crumbs
1/2 cup half and half or milk
1 small onion, finely chopped
1/2 cup coarsely grated Parmesan
1/2 cup chopped Parsley, chopped; more for garnish
1/2 cup Arugula/Spinach combination, chopped
String for tying

2 Tbsp. olive oil
3 cloves garlic, chopped
2 Tbsp. butter
12 Baby Portabella mushrooms, finely chopped
2 Tbsp. flour
1 cup red wine
1 cup beef broth
2 fat Tbsp. tomato paste

* I should have cut my pieces of steak so they were even rectangles. It would have made the rolling easier and final presentation prettier.

Preparation:
Liberally salt and pepper both sides of the beef. Cover each slice with pancetta. In a medium bowl add bread crumbs, half and half, grated cheese, diced onion, parsley, arugula/spinach, salt and pepper. Stir combining thoroughly to moisten bread crumbs. Spread a thin layer of the stuffing over each piece of beef.

Roll tightly, tucking the stuffing in as you go.

Tie the rolls with kitchen string. Because the beef was unevenly cut and they were so tiny my tying is quite amateurish. I even had to stick in a few toothpicks to keep them together!

Heat the olive oil in a heavy bottom skillet until almost smoking and brown the beef rolls on all sides, about 6 minutes. Toss in the garlic.

Remove the meat from the pan and add 2 Tbsp. butter. Add mushrooms to melted butter. Saute the mushrooms for about 5 minutes to release juices. Add flour to the pan and cook 2 minutes. Whisk wine into the mushroom mixture and make sure you scrape up all the pan drippings. Season with salt and pepper. Then add beef broth and tomato paste. Stir to combine well. Remove the string from the rolls. Add the meat back into the sauce. Reduce heat and cook at barely a simmer for 40-45 minutes spooning sauce over the beef rolls.

I served our Braciole with Portabella mushroom Risotta and smoked asparagus.

Try this recipe and let me know if you like it as much as we did! I could’ve drank a bowl of that sauce on its own.