Braciole!

I have been wanting to try Dad's recipe for braciole since Tracy wrote about it on Facebook last week.  I was intrigued by the idea of thinly-sliced steak with potatoes, onions, peppers, and spices, cooked in homemade tomato sauce... it sounded amazing, and I loved knowing that my dad used to make it.  I didn't remember it, but I knew I wanted to try! 

Attempt number one was Wednesday, but I soon found that you have to plan ahead on this kind of thing.  Stop and Shop said they had no butchers after 4:00 to cut steak as thin as I would need for braciole, so I gave Mark the job of going to Emerald Meats in Worcester after work today to pick it up.  I wasn't sure what kind of steak  to get, or how much, but luckily the butcher had experience with braciole and said we wanted top round steak.  We wanted 16 pieces, which ended up coming to just over 3 pounds of steak.  He even cleaned it up and trimmed it for us - and less trimming for me is key when it comes to cooking non-vegetarian meals!

So anyway, we weren't able to try this until tonight.  It was just my mom, Mark and I at home, and I couldn't have done it without them!  It's not that they are a ton of work, just a lot of simultaneous steps.  We made a damn good team. 

And the end result?  Everyone raved over them.  You could cut them with a butter knife, they were so tender, and the filling was amazing... well, this is what everyone said.  To be honest, I didn't love it.  In my head, it was going to taste much better.  Maybe it is just the fact that I really don't like meat, because the other 6 people eating dinner loved it.  Or maybe it was the fact that Alex started talking about how people like rare meat "so that they can taste the blood."  That definitely didn't help, as a recovering vegetarian who had rolled raw steaks earlier!  Anyway, it was kind of fun to make, so I wouldn't say that I'll never make it again.... but I am not a huge fan.

With that said, I still would recommend making it.  There are so many cool variations, too; there are tons of different recipes online with different fillings, ranging from raisins to pine nuts.  Maybe I will try a new filling if I make them again.  I did try to add my own twist to Dad's recipe by adding fresh basil leaves; I think the options are basically endless for braciole!  Anyway, here is the recipe that Mom and I scraped together tonight.  Luckily she said she watched Dad make it enough that she could remember what to do!

Making Dad's braciole!

Recipes:

Braciole

3 lbs. thinly sliced top round steak (we got 3.32 lbs)
2 green peppers, diced
2 onions, diced
1 tablespoon oregano
1 tablespoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup parmesan cheese
1/2 teaspoon pepper
3 potatoes, thinly sliced
fresh basil leaves

Mom and Mark, hard at work

1) Make your own tomato sauce; I just did a quick one with onions and garlic, and 2 cans of crushed tomatoes.

2)  Mix together the spices and parmesan cheese.

3)  To make the rolls, lay each slice of steak on the cutting board.  Sprinkle the spice and cheese mixture on top, and rub it in.  Layer potato slices and basil on the steak, and sprinkle a handfull of the onions and peppers.  Carefully and tightly roll the steak up, using a toothpick to secure.

Sauteing

4)  Saute the rolls in a pan with some canola oil just until brown.  Then put the rolls into a baking dish, cover with tomato sauce, and place into a 350 degree oven.  We covered ours with tin foil because we were afraid it would bubble over; we baked it for an hour and a half.

5)  Serve with your choice of pasta; I thought it called for fettuccini. Feed to strict carnivores, not recovering vegetarians   : /

Pouring the sauce on top





Finished product