Beef Olives Bragioli Recipes

BEEF BRACIOLE WITH OLIVES AND RAISINS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 325°F. Pound beef with the tenderizing side of a meat mallet to 1/8-inch thickness; season with salt and pepper. In a bowl, stir together olives, raisins, 1/2 cup each parsley and cheese, and 1 tablespoon oil.
• Divide olive mixture evenly among beef slices, patting it down to an even thickness and leaving a 1/4-inch border all around. Starting at one short end, roll each piece into a tight log; secure with twine or a wooden skewer.
• Heat remaining 3 tablespoons oil in a braiser pan or a wide, shallow ovenproof pot over medium-high. Add beef in a single layer (in two batches, if necessary, to avoid crowding pan) and cook, turning a few times, until browned all over, 8 to 10 minutes. Transfer to a plate.
• Add garlic and oregano to pan; cook until sizzling and fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add wine and boil, scraping up any browned bits, until mostly evaporated. Return beef and any accumulated juices to pan. Add broth and tomato sauce; bring to a boil.
• Cover pan and transfer to oven. Cook, spooning sauce over beef a few times, until beef is fork-tender and sauce has reduced to a gravy, 1 1/2 to 2 hours (if gravy reduces and thickens too quickly, stir in more broth).
• Stir together orange zest, remaining 1/4 cup parsley and 2 tablespoons cheese, and pine nuts. Sprinkle over braciole and gravy before serving.

BRACIOLE

Steps:

• Stir the first 5 ingredients in a medium bowl to blend. Stir in 2 tablespoons of the oil. Season mixture with salt and pepper and set aside.
• Lay the flank steak flat on the work surface. Sprinkle the bread crumb mixture evenly over the steak to cover the top evenly. Starting at 1 short end, roll up the steak as for a jelly roll to enclose the filling completely. Using butcher's twine, tie the steak roll to secure. Sprinkle the braciole with salt and pepper.
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• Heat the remaining 2 tablespoons of oil in a heavy large ovenproof skillet over medium heat. Add the braciole and cook until browned on all sides, about 8 minutes. Add the wine to the pan and bring to a boil. Stir in the marinara sauce. Cover partially with foil and bake until the meat is almost tender, turning the braciole and basting with the sauce every 30 minutes. After 1 hour, uncover and continue baking until the meat is tender, about 30 minutes longer. The total cooking time should be about 1 1/2 hours.
• Remove the braciole from the sauce. Using a large sharp knife, cut the braciole crosswise and diagonally into 1/2-inch-thick slices. Transfer the slices to plates. Spoon the sauce over and serve.
• In a large casserole pot, heat oil over medium-high heat. Add onion and garlic and saute until soft and translucent, about 2 minutes. Add celery and carrot and season with salt and pepper. Saute until all the vegetables are soft, about 5 minutes. Add tomatoes, basil, and bay leaves and reduce the heat to low. Cover the pot and simmer for 1 hour or until thick. Remove bay leaves and taste for seasoning. If sauce tastes too acidic, add unsalted butter, 1 tablespoon at a time, to round out the flavor.
• Pour half the tomato sauce into the bowl of a food processor. Process until smooth. Continue with remaining tomato sauce.
• If not using all the sauce, allow it to cool completely and then pour 1 to 2 cup portions into plastic freezer bags. Freeze for up to 6 months.

BEEF OLIVES (BRAGIOLI)

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350F.
• Beat each slice of meat flat with a kitchen mallet or fleischklobber and spread them out on your work surface.
• Grind the bread to crumbs.
• Prepare a stuffing by mixing the crumbs with the chopped bacon, garlic, parsley and seasoning. (Not the bay leaves; those come in later.)
• Heap a tablespoon or two of the stuffing onto each beef slice, and top with a slice or segment of hard boiled egg.
• Roll the meat slices lengthwise over the stuffing, and tie up with thread, or fasten together with wooden toothpicks.
• Pour some oil or melt some lard in a large pan, and brown the beef olives all over in this, together with the bay leaves.
• Transfer the browned bragoli to a large casserole dish.
• In the same oil or fat, dry the sliced onion and carrot. Pour the wine over the frying onions, let it bubble, and then pour this sauce over the bragioli in the casserole.
• Stew very gently for 1 1/2 hours. (You may have to add a little more wine, stock or water to top up the braising liquid, but don't add too much: otherwise the bragioli will not braise correctly.
• When the bragioli are ready, remove the thread or toothpicks and serve with peas and mashed potatoes, spooning the sauce over.