Sunday Dinner

I spent my childhood in the hills of West Virginia as some of you may know. Sunday dinner was baked chicken, grilled meats, meatloaf, stews, meat sauce and spaghetti. My mother is not of Italian decent so what recipes she makes that are italian are definetly Italian American in origin. My father, however, is full blooded Italian. His father’s parents came  over from Northern Italy in the late 1800’s and his mother (aka Noni) came over in 1947. When we would go visit Noni Sunday dinner was always pasta, meat, salad, dessert.

One of my favorite things Noni would make was braciole or as she called them roulette (Noni is from Naples so she didn’t have the Sicilian dialect of braciole). Over the years my brother and I have refined her recipe to add better tasting wine (sorry Noni but your homemade wine tasted like hairspray). I personally like mine in a half wine half tomato sauce simmered for hours, my brother goes heavier on the wine. Either way it is a simple yet tasty and elegant meal to put together early on a Sunday and not to stress over.

Ingredients

• 1-2 pounds thin sliced steak (my store had beef top round)
• bunch of fresh parsley (I have made it with dried as well will need about 2-3 Tbsp)
• 3-4 garlic cloves crushed in a garlic press
• S&P about tsp each
• 1 cup or so of plain bread crumbs
• 1 to 1 1/2 cup dry red wine (something you would drink I used Pinot Noir)
• 1 can crushed tomato
• small sweet onion sliced thin
• AP flour for coating
• olive oil for browning meat and cooking onions (about 4 Tbsp total but will be added separately …you will see)

FYI I used a fairly cheap wine but one that still tastes good.

 

First chop up the parsley fine and place in a bowl; press your garlic put in bowl; add cup of bread crumbs, S&P and mix it all well.

Take a good pinch of filling and spread onto meat. I personally like to put all over, not just in center; it’s how Noni taught me and it seems to fill the roll better.

Once they are all done heat up your dutch oven or large pot to medium high heat with a  little  bit of olive oil. While that is heating dredge your bracioles in flour lightly. You just want to brown the outside of braciole on all sides (to cook the flour and keep meat moist). You will have to do this in batches and add little more olive oil each time. Once they are all browned then you can add in last little bit of olive oil and the onions. Keep the heat medium high so you can brown the onions, let them cook about 2 minutes stir well then time to add the wine.

Pour in slowly about 1 cup of wine and using wooden spoon scrape bottom of pot (deglazing the good little cooked bits) Oh and by the way the onions are still in the pot!!! Then add in the braciole, tomatoes, and splash more wine (you don’t have to measure this really just what you want I promise it will be good). Mix it well and cover. Lower heat to low and let simmer at least 1 1/2 hours but if you have most of your afternoon that is good too!!!!

This is how I added a splash more wine, gotta clean out the can!

Remember to remove the toothpicks when you serve!!!!

Serve with pasta of your choice. My brother will serve his over mashed potatoes or rice sometimes (like I said his is more wine than tomatoes though). I will also serve this with some good bread and a nice salad. A perfect stress free Sunday dinner. Enjoy!!!