Braciole with Bacon and Onion Sauce

By carvalhohm2

Ingredients

• Browning meat and sauce:
• 3 eggs
• 2 About 2 cups cubed stale white or peasant bread, crusts trimmed
• Milk, to soak bread
• 3 tablespoons pine nuts, toasted
• 3 tablespoons currants
• 1/2 cup flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped
• 1 cup baby kale, spinach or arugula, chopped
• 2 large cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
• A handful of grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
• 2 pounds beef round steaks, cut into 12 slices and pounded very thin (1/8-inch)
• Salt and pepper
• 12 slices Prosciutto di Parma
• 1/3 pound provolone or young pecorino, cut into 2- to 3-inch sticks about 1/4-inch square
• Olive oil, for browning meat
• 1/3 pound pancetta, cut into 1/4-inch dice
• 2 onions, chopped
• 4 cloves garlic, sliced
• 2 fresh bay leaves
• Pepper
• 3 tablespoons tomato paste
• 1 1/2 cups dry white or red wine
• 2 cups chicken or veal stock
• 1 32-ounce can D.O.P. Italian tomatoes, hand crushed
• Serve with side of pasta or crusty bread for mopping

Details

Servings 12
Adapted from rachaelrayshow.com

Preparation

Step 1

Cover cold eggs with water, bring to full boil. Cover pan, remove from heat and let stand 10 minutes. Drain eggs, crack and let stand a couple of minutes in cold water. Peel eggs and chop.

Soak bread in milk to soften then squeeze out excess milk as you add the bread to a mixing bowl.

Combine bread with chopped eggs, toasted pine nuts, currants, parsley, chopped greens, garlic, chili flakes and Parm.

Season beef slices with salt and pepper, and top each with 1 slice of prosciutto and a few spoonfuls of stuffing at one end. Nest a stick of cheese in the stuffing and tuck in the sides of beef as you roll into a bundle. Secure with kitchen twine. Repeat with remaining beef slices.

Heat a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat with 2 turns of the pan olive oil. Add beef bundles, 4 rolls at a time so as not to crowd the pan, and brown well all over. Remove to a plate. Add the pancetta to the drippings and render 2-3 minutes, stirring constantly. Add onions, garlic and bay; season with black pepper. Partially cover and soften onions 7-8 minutes then add tomato paste and stir 1-2 minutes. Add wine and reduce by half; add stock and tomatoes. Slide meat rolls back into the sauce and bring to a bubble. Simmer gently for 2 1/2 hours or until the meat is very tender, stirring occasionally and adding a little more water or more stock if sauce reduces too much and meat rolls aren’t completely submerged.

Remove meat rolls to a warm platter and cut off twine. If serving beef with pasta, toss pasta with starchy cooking water and half the sauce; spoon reminder over rolls. Charred ciabatta bread rubbed with garlic and drizzled with EVOO makes a fine companion for mopping up the sauce as well.