Braciole

I consider it a blessing to grow up with Italian grandparents.🇮🇹  If you were lucky enough to have Italian grandparents, you know that going to their house always meant spending a whole lot of time in the kitchen.  Sometimes, when I went to visit them we played cards at the kitchen table while nibbling on Italian cookies but most of the time, I would sit in a wooden chair and watch my grandmother masterfully prepare her signature dishes without recipes or cookbooks.  

My grandmothers food was legendary.  She made the best homemade raviolis and sauce that I've ever tasted. 🍝  I would spend hours sitting across from her at the kitchen table, playing with the dough scraps while watching her roll out pasta dough until it was so thin, you could see through it!  When I got older, I became the apprentice she never asked for.👩🏻‍🍳  She would put handfuls of flour onto the wooden pastry board and I would immediately scrape it into a measuring cup so I could record exactly how much she had used.😅  When I asked her to describe what she was doing, she would give me tips like, "knead it until it feels right". 🤷🏻‍♀️🤣 

I used to love watching her work her magic in the kitchen.  She was a master of all things food.  Her Palm Sunday meals and Christmas Eve dinners were epic.  It was at my Italian grandparents house that I first experienced braciole.  I don't remember my grandmother making it often - just on special occasions.  So during the Christmas season, when I'm missing my grandparents just a little bit more, I decided to pay tribute to my Italian grandmother by making my own version of braciole.  

I honestly don't know how my grandmother made her braciole so I decided to turn to Cook's Illustrated for inspiration.  As usual, they did not disappoint.  This thin steak, stuffed with cheese and herbs, rolled with prosciutto and roasted in a spicy tomato sauce is pure deliciousness.  You will have to devote some extra time and care to putting this recipe together but after all, isn't that the essence of Italian cooking?   

Braciole
7 Tablespoons olive oil
10 cloves garlic, minced
2 teaspoons lemon zest
2 teaspoons anchovy paste
1/3 cup + 2 Tablespoons fresh basil, chopped
1/3 cup fresh parsley
1/3 cup Pecorino Romano cheese
1/3 cup bread crumbs
3/4 cup fontina cheese, shredded
2 pound skirt steak
8 thin slices prosciutto
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1 onion, chopped
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1/4 cup tomato paste
3/4 cup red wine
28 ounces crushed tomatoes
​2 cups beef broth

Stir together 3 T. oil, 5 cloves garlic, lemon zest and anchovy paste. 

Add 1/3 c. basil, parsley, Pecorino and bread crumbs.  Stir in fontina. 

Cut steak in half to create 6 total pieces. 

Flatten each piece with a meat pounder.

Distribute filling over steaks.  

Press a slice of prosciutto into filling.  

Roll each steak for form a tight roll.  

Tie with twine on each end. ​

Sprinkle rolls with salt and pepper.  Heat 1/4 c. oil in dutch oven.

Brown rolls on 2 sides.  Transfer to a plate.

Add onion to pot and cook until browned. 

Stir in red pepper and 5 cloves garlic.  Stir in tomato paste and cook 3 minutes.

Add wine and scrape off any browned bits.

Stir in tomatoes and broth.           

Return rolls to pot and bring to a boil.  Cover and simmer 2 1/2 - 3 hours. Turn rolls halfway through braising. 

Transfer to a platter.​

Remove twine. ​

Stir 2 T. basil into remaining sauce. Pour sauce over braciole.

​Ciao!

Click here for a printable version of this recipe