We always enjoy eating braciole with different vegetables but hands down rapini is a family favourite. These meat rolls need a bit of pounding to get that tender texture everyone loves to enjoy. Because each one is tied it’s like unwrapping your present on your plate to enjoy the surprise inside! Serve the braciola and some sauce with sautéed rapini; toss the extra sauce with pasta or save it for another recipe.
Beef Rolls (Braciole) in Tomato Sauce
- Prep Time: 25 minutes
- Cook Time: 2-3/4 hours
- Total Time: 3 hours 10 minutes
Ingredients
- 1 lb (500 g) Beef Inside Round or Eye of Round cutlets/fast-fry steaks (about 4 to 6 cutlets)
- ½ tsp (2 mL) EACH salt and pepper
- ½ cup (125 mL) fresh grated Parmesan cheese
- ⅓ cup (75 mL) chopped fresh flat leaf parsley
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- ¼ cup (60 mL) extra virgin olive oil
- ½ cup (125 mL) dry white wine
Tomato Sauce
- 1 jar (680 mL) tomato passata (strained tomatoes)
- 2 sprigs fresh basil (about 10 leaves)
- 1 small onion, halved
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1 tsp (5 mL) dried oregano leaves
- ½ tsp (2 mL) salt
- ¼ tsp (1 mL) hot pepper flakes
Instructions
- Cut a sealable bag along one side and bottom to open up easily. Place a cutlet inside and close bag. Pound out the cutlet using a flat meat mallet until very thin. Remove to a baking sheet and repeat with remaining cutlets.
- Arrange cutlets in a single layer on the sheet and sprinkle both sides with salt and pepper. Spread cutlets with cheese, parsley and garlic, dividing equally. Starting at the narrower short side, roll up jelly-roll style and secure with butcher’s string or a toothpick.
- Heat oil over medium-high heat in a wide saucepan. Add beef and brown, turning, until browned on all sides. Add wine and turn rolls again; simmer for 2 minutes. Reduce heat to medium-low.
- Tomato Sauce: Add tomato passata, ½ cup (125 mL) water, basil, onion, garlic, oregano, salt and hot pepper flakes to pan and stir gently. Bring to a simmer.
Notes
Be sure to tell your family and guests to remove the string or toothpick before enjoying!
If you do not have sealable bags, use plastic wrap, parchment paper or waxed paper to pound the beef out thinly.
If cutlets are very large cut them in half crosswise to get 2 similar-size cutlets; it helps cook the braciole evenly when you start with cutlets all the same size.
Per 1 cooked portion: about 390 Calories, 32g Protein, 21g Fat, 18g Carbohydrate, 1160mg Sodium
%DV: Iron 28% (Excellent Source), Zinc 55% (Excellent Source), Vitamin B12 58% (Excellent Source)
