Braciola – Italian roulade with minced meat filling

Ingredients for 4 servings:

• 4 beef roulades
• 1 pinch(s) of cayenne pepper
• salt and pepper
• 1 roll, from the day before
• 125 ml milk
• 125 g ham (prosciutto or pancetta), thick slices, cut into small pieces
• 250 g veal sausage meat
• 125 g Italian salami, diced
• 2 tbsp pine nuts, roasted
• 2 anchovy fillets, in oil
• 1 tbsp tomatoes, dried, marinated in oil
• 5 cloves garlic
• 125 g Parmesan, grated
• 2 tbsp butter, softened, or olive oil
• 1 handful of parsley, chopped
• 1 egg(s)
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 large onion(s), diced
• 1 carrot(s), peeled and diced
• 200 ml Marsala
• 2 tbsp flour
• 2 large cans of Italian tomatoes, whole
• 3 sprigs basil, fresh
• ½ tsp oregano, dried
• ½ tsp thyme, dried
• ½ tsp sage, dried
• 2 bay leaves

Instructions

Working time approx. 45 minutes; Cooking/baking time approx. 3 hours; Total time approx. 3 hours 45 minutes

hearty variation of the southern Italian roulade classic

Pound the roulade slices as thinly as possible and season with salt, pepper, and a little cayenne pepper. Soak the roulade in half of the milk and then squeeze it out very firmly. Place the minced veal, prosciutto or pancetta, salami, 2 garlic cloves, toasted pine nuts, anchovy fillets, pickled tomatoes, and parsley in a food processor and process until finely chopped. Combine the mixture with the Parmesan cheese and butter or oil. Then add the soaked roulade and the egg and mix well. Season with salt and pepper. Spread the mixture evenly among the roulades and smooth the surface. Reserve a large spoonful of the mixture. Roll up the roulades and secure with kitchen string or roulade pins or clips to prevent any filling from escaping. Brown the reserved filling in a large roasting pan with a little olive oil, three whole garlic cloves, and half of the chopped onion. When the garlic begins to soften and brown, flatten it slightly with a fork and continue cooking – but remove it before it gets too dark. Place the roulades in the roasting pan and turn occasionally until evenly browned on all sides. Add the remaining onion and the carrot and continue cooking briefly. Now pour in the Marsala and carefully use a spatula to loosen the pieces from the bottom. Reduce the heat and simmer until the wine has evaporated. Dust the roulades with the flour and gently toss them around until the flour is brown. Then add the tomatoes and enough water (or a good homemade stock) to just cover the roulades. Add the basil, oregano, thyme and bay leaves. Bring everything to a boil, then reduce the heat to a gentle simmer. Season with salt and pepper. Simmer until the meat is tender and soft (fork test), about 2 to 2.5 hours, depending on the quality of the meat. Then very carefully remove the roulades and keep them warm. If you like, you can now puree the sauce with a magic wand – but it is not necessary. Simmer the sauce over high heat until it thickens slightly and season again with salt and pepper. Remove the string/pegs/pins from the roulades. It looks very nice if you cut the roulades diagonally into slices and arrange them on a plate with the sauce. I like it a lot with pasta as a main course, but it also goes well as a side dish with ravioli or tortellini (depending on the filling). It looks nice if the diagonally and beautifully cut slices are arranged on large/coarse pasta (e.g. rigatoni), with the sauce around them and a delicious green or tomato salad on the side. The braciole can also be frozen very well covered in the sauce.