Best Braciole Ever!

Making Braciole for dinner or the holidays is one of those authentic comfort foods that’s so delicious it could easily become a tradition for you and your family, even if you are not Italian. Some of you may be asking yourself what is braciole? Well, it’s thinly sliced flank steak that’s rolled up and stuffed with Reggiano Parmigiano, Asiago, and fresh herbs. The braciole is sautéed in olive oil and garlic cloves and then simmered in a tomato-basil sauce for a couple of hours until tender and juicy. And I tell you it’s even better when re-heated the next day!

The Italians aren’t the only ones who have come up with this fun and creative idea of rolling up and stuffing thinly sliced beef then simmering or braising in a gravy until tender. There’s a German dish that I absolutely love that’s just as flavorful as braciole called beef rouladen. German beef rouladen is made up of thinly sliced top or bottom round stuffed with mustard, onions, bacon and pickles, then sautéed and braised in the oven with veggies in a beef and wine gravy until tender. It’s serve with sautéed red cabbage and spaetzle or potatoes and ooh is that scrumptious too! That will have to be another show I will put together for you!

Now that I have you in the mood for some creativity in the kitchen …get to work! lol You will be very happy to expand that recipe repertoire of yours after making this wonderful Italian braciole for dinner. Make sure to serve up your sliced braciole with a dollop of ricotta cheese on top of the pasta to give it that unexpected extra flavor and creaminess. I will get working on the German beef rouladen show for you:)

If you are going for the Italian theme you might as well treat yourself to some of my appetizer’s like baked asparagus wrapped in Prosciutto, or crab cakes with a homemade remoulade sauce. Then you can really go for it with my SECRET manicotti recipe or homemade spaghetti that’s totally fun for the whole family and easy to make! Then end it all with some chocolate eclairs with the BEST vanilla custard you have ever had …enjoy! 🙂

Ingredients:

• 2 lb flank steak sliced horizontally into 3 layers
• 1 cup grated Reggiano Parmigiano
• 1 cup grated Asiago
• 1 tbsp dried ground Italian seasonings
• 1 bunch parsley
• 1 bunch fresh basil
• salt and pepper
• olive oil
• 1 recipe tomato-basil sauce but simmered for 1 1/2 – 2 hours
• 1 cup ricotta
• 1 cup red wine or white (I actually prefer to deglaze here with red)
• 1 lb rigatoni

Directions:

• Start sautéing the veggies for the tomato-basil sauce and use the same pan for sautéing the braciole logs
• Slice or have your butcher slice the 2 lb piece of flank steak into 3 horizontal layers
• Then cut those pieces in half so you now have 6 semi-equal pieces
• Sprinkle 1 tbsp each of Reggiano and Asiago on each piece
• Lay whole basil leaves or chop basil and parsley and sprinkle onto flank slices
• Roll up starting at the small end
• Cut approx 40″ of cotton string and tie a knot at one of the ends
• Then keep wrapping string all around the length of the rolled up flank til you are at the other end
• Now come back tucking under each row of string going across like shown in the video til you get to the end and tie off a knot with the original piece of string you started with
• Add 2 tbsp of olive oil a large pan and a few large cloves of garlic kept whole for extra flavor and sauté 3 rolled up pieces of braciole at a time
• Brown on all sides on medium/high heat about 3-4  minutes each side (remove the garlic coves when golden and smear on a baguette and dip into the tomato-basil sauce when you start to simmer with braciole…YUM!)
• After browning the second batch of (3) braciole add back in the first 3 and de-glaze with red wine (I used white in the show but prefer to use red here)
• Add in puréed tomatoes and simmer for 1 1/2 – 2 hours
• Take braciole rolls out and slice 3/8″-1/2″ thick
• Serve with pasta (rigatoni) and a dollop of ricotta on top with a few slices of braciole and grated Reggiano…mangia, mangia.
• PS- It’s even better re-heated the 2nd day! 🙂