The cookbooks from the '70's are fascinating because many of the ingredients used were brand name convenience foods. I grew up in the '70's (hello!! check out my profile picture!) and I'm no stranger to the convenience foods of the disco era, but I'm not sure what some of them are.
This recipe for Italian Stuffed Steak Rolls (aka Braciole) is from one of those old spiral bound cookbooks. My husband Mike say's his mom used to make a similar type of beef roll when he was growing up. He was born and raised in Upstate NY, so you KNOW they were good! His mother passed away years ago, so I've asked him to check with his sisters to see if they have her recipe. Meanwhile, I made this today. It took a little effort, but it wasn't hard. Plus, it was a nice change from a ground beef sauce.
You'll use round steak for this recipe. You can usually find this already sliced at the store:
Pound the slices a little thinner using your mallet. I put the slices (one at a time) between plastic wrap and give them a gentle beating until they expand and thin out a bit. It's not a huge difference, but I think it makes rolling them easier.
There's my mallet! With part of the price tag still on it! Yes...I do wash it, but I hand wash so the sticker has lingered (that's right - I don't even own a dishwasher!). Plus, there's always a layer of plastic between the meat and the mallet, so I think everything is ok here.
You can see below that the meat is a little thinner...
Hammer the meat! Then mix up the bread crumb and parmesan filling and make the sauce!
At this point you're ready stuff and roll! Just put a little filling onto the beef slices. I used about two tablespoons per slice based on the size of my steaks...
Carefully roll up the beef and tie the rolls with string. Don't they look fancy?!
Once all of the beef rolls are finished, it's time to brown them in a little olive oil...
Once browned, add the tomato sauce to the pot. Lower the heat and simmer for 1 1/2 hours...
They should be quite tender by then. Serve them over buttered spaghetti noodles with a little sauce on top. Don't forget to cut the strings off before serving!!
Click Here for Printable Version!
Italian Stuffed Steak Rolls
Italian Stuffed Steak Rolls
1 1/2 pounds of round steak sliced into 1/4 inch thin steaks
1 cup fresh bread crumbs
1/4 cup chopped onion
1/4 cup chopped parsley
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 6oz can tomato paste
2 cups hot water
1 clove of garlic, minced
1 1/2 teaspoons salt (I know this seems like a lot, but the sauce needs it)
1/4 teaspoon pepper (or to taste)
Basil or Italian seasonings to taste
You may need to trim the round steaks if they're too large. I like them around 3 to 4 inches long when rolled.
1. Season both sides of the meat with salt and pepper to taste.
2. Place one slice of meat at a time between two pieces of plastic wrap. Pound thin with a meat mallet or rolling pin.
3. Mix the bread crumbs, onion, parsley and Parmesan cheese together to make the filling.
4. Make the sauce: Mix the tomato paste, hot water, minced garlic, salt and pepper together in a bowl. Mix well to break up the tomato paste.
5. Spread filling over the beef slices. Two tablespoons or so, depending on the size of your beef slices.
6. Starting at one end, roll the beef tightly enough to enclose the filling inside of the roll. Tie with string to secure.
7. Heat the olive oil on medium heat. Add the beef rolls and brown on all sides. You can do this in batches if they all don't fit in the pan at one time.
8. When the beef rolls are browned, pour the tomato sauce over the rolls and lower the heat to a simmer. Cover and simmer for 1 1/2 hours.
We like these served over buttered noodles with a little of the sauce on top.
Let me know how you like it, or if you made any changes that worked for you. |
