This is one of those meals that bring me back to happy times of my childhood when my mom used to wake up early on Sundays and make slow cooked sauces and braised meats. Recently, I watched Stanley Tucci talking about the importance of food in his family and how it was all everyone talked about. This was certainly true in my family as well. I also felt as Stanley did that when I ate out nothing came close to what my mom made at home. Everything was homemade and she was a voracious reader about other cuisines, but to me, her own recipes of the things she grew up with was always the best. Braciole is easier to make than you might think. Many stores now sell the round steak thinly cut. All you need is some cooking twine, wine and a few ingredients and you are in business. In fact, I made mine early in the morning before my workday got started and it cooked for several hours while I took calls. It’s the perfect dish for multitasking!
Ingredients
1 small onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tbsps. tomato paste
2 tsps. crushed red pepper
2 cups passata (strained tomato sauce)
I cup chicken stock
1 cup white wine
1 28 oz can of San Marzano tomatoes
½ cup toasted pine nuts
¼ cup golden raisins
¼ cup capers
1 cup breadcrumbs
Olive oil
¾ cup Grated pecorino Romano cheese
1 tsp. dried thyme
8-10 pieces of top round beef, sliced thinly
Sea salt and fresh ground black pepper
Italian parsley, chopped
1. In a large pot or Dutch oven, heat 2 tablespoons olive oil over medium heat. Add 1 onion, finely diced, and 2 cloves garlic, minced then soften 2-3 minutes. Add tomato paste, oregano, and crushed pepper, stir 1 minute, then add 1 cup wine and evaporate to ¼ cup. Add stock, passata, and tomatoes, and reduce.
2. In a small skillet over medium heat, in 1 tablespoon EVOO soften remaining onions and garlic to tender and season with salt and pepper. Cool, then combine with pine nuts and golden raisins.
3. Season pounded out meat with salt and pepper. Top with cooked onions, breadcrumbs, pecorino cheese, leaving a border of about an inch. Tuck in sides of beef and roll lengthwise tightly. Secure rolls with kitchen string.
4. Heat a large pat with olive oil, then brown beef evenly all over for 3 minutes on each side or until cooked through. Add remaining 1 cup wine and evaporate. Place the beef into the Dutch oven with the sauce, scraping in bits from the bottom of skillet. Bring to simmer, cover, and place in oven. Cook 3 hours, basting every 30 minutes; uncover pot for the last hour of cooking. Serve over cooked polenta and spoon the sauce over. Top with chopped parsley.
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