Braciole with Eggs

Ingredients

Serves: about 4

Prep: 30-35 min.

Cook: 2 1/2 hours

Braciole

• 1 1/2 lb beef top round or flank steak – if meat is thick, butterfly it or ask your butcher to do this. You’ll want thin slices of meat for rolling.

• Olive Oil

• 1/2 c. Chopped Fresh Flat Leaf Parsley

• 1/2 c. Grated Parmigiano-Reggiano Cheese or Grated Aged Provolone Cheese

• 2 tbsp. Garlic chopped finely

• 1 Hard Boiled Egg for each roll (4-6)

• Salt and Pepper to taste

• Toothpicks or string (butcher’s twine) to secure the rolls

• 3-4 Tbsp. Olive oil for browning

TOMATO SAUCE

• 2 Tbsp. Olive oil

• 2 Cloves Garlic chopped

• 1 c. Red Wine

• 1 28 oz. Can San Marzano Tomatoes – give them a quick turn or 2 in the blender first

• 1 Tbsp. Tomato Paste (dilute the paste in 1/2 c. water – stir well until dissolved into the water)

• 2 Tbsp. Fresh Flat Leaf Parsley – chopped

• 1 Tbsp. Fresh Oregano leaves – chopped

• 2 Tbsp. Fresh Basil – chopped

• 1 Parmigiano-Reggiano Cheese Rind

Instructions

1. You’ll need a mallet or something heavy to pound the meat. This type of mallet comes with a side with sharp points for tenderizing.

2. Lay the meat out on a board. Pound with a mallet to thin and beat with tenderizer side to further tenderize the meat.

3. If making  smaller ones cut the meat into 5-6” slices.

4. Rub each slice with olive oil. Follow with a sprinkle of chopped parsley, cheese, garlic, salt and pepper to taste.

5. Place a hard boiled egg at the top of the meat slice.

6. Begin rolling.

7. Roll each slice vertically and secure with toothpicks or string.

8. You can use 2 or 3 strings to secure the smaller ones. If making large ones, use more string or toothpicks.

9. Brown the rolls in olive oil. When finished – remove them and make the Tomato Sauce in the same pan.

TOMATO SAUCE

1. Add Olive oil to the pan. Add garlic and cook a minute or two. Do not burn the garlic.

2. If using the sauce for Braciole, add the browned rolls back to the pan now.

3. With your heat turned up to medium high, add the red wine and scraped up the bits from the bottom of the pan.

4. Turn the rolls to coat in the wine as it cooks down for a couple of minutes.

5. Add the tomatoes to the pan, followed by the paste in water, herbs, and rind.

6. Cover the pan or pot and simmer for 1 1/2 hours . Stir gently occasionally to turn the rolls.

7. Uncover the pot for the last hour of cooking to thicken.

8. Remove rolls before serving and remove and discard toothpicks and strings. Slice the rolls thickly.

9. Serve with plenty of grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese. The Braciole Napoletana is lovely served with pasta or polenta