My Mom's Braciole

I think this might be the first time I've actually featured one of my mom's recipes.  Well, actually, this recipe was handed down to her from my dad's mom.  What strikes me as funny about that is I grew up thinking her mom gave her this recipe.  I mean they were the Italian family...my dad is German...my German grandma made this wonderful Italian dish?  Well...I guess you really do learn something new every day!!

ANYWAY...the Braciole....yes.... I love braciole.  Now mine was lacking in the parsley department.  I got distracted and started doing three things at once in the kitchen...which is never a good thing...and before I knew it, I was layering the stuffing part on the meat and rolling them up thinking, wow, there really isn't enough parsley in here....but besides that little flaw in our meal, I will say that I think I would have made my mom proud!  Chris loved it... I loved it... that equals success in my book!!  Now, My mom let's her braciole simmer for 2 hours, I only let mine simmer for just over an hour....I didn't see any damage in removing them before the 2 hour mark....they still had time to soak up the flavor from the sauce and become nice and tender.

If you have never had braciole before, let me let you in on the secret - Braciole (American Italian style at least) are simply thin slices of beef rolled with a filling of parmesan cheese, bread crumbs, parsley, and olive oil.  They are quickly pan fried and then left to simmer in sauce.  You can serve them by themselves, over pasta, along side meatballs.  There truly is no wrong way to eat them!  (I wish I had taken a picture of them whole...I was so worried about getting a picture of the "inside" of the braciole, I never did get a pre-cut picture...sorry about that!)

Special thanks to my mom for allowing me to share this delicious recipe from my childhood with you!

My Mom's Braciole

Printable Recipe 
Ingredients:
1 lb flank steak, pounded to 1/4-inch thick or less
1/2 cup dried Italian bread crumbs
1 garlic clove, finely minced
1/2 cup (or more) freshly chopped Italian flat leaf parsley
1/4-1/3 cup grated parmesan cheese
olive oil
cotton string or toothpicks (DO NOT USE NYLON STRING!!!)
tomato/marinara sauce (about 2-3 cups)

Directions:
In a pot or large sauce pan, over medium to medium-high heat, add the sauce and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat to low and allow to simmer.

Meanwhile, cut the flank steak into strips about 3-4 inches wide.  Lay the strips flat on the counter.  In a bowl, mix the bread crumbs, garlic, parsley and cheese together.  Add enough oil to make into a paste.  Spread the filling evenly over the meat.  Roll the meat as tightly as you can and tie it with the cotton string or secure with toothpick.

In a skillet over medium high heat, with 1 tablespoon olive oil, brown all sides of the braciole.  Add the meat to the sauce and allow to simmer for 1 1/2 to 3 hours.

***My mom also wanted me to include Giada De Laurentiis way of baking this in the oven too:  Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Follow same instructions as above but brown the meat in an ovenproof skillet.  Add the tomato sauce to the pan (no need to heat up the sauce before this either) and bring to a boil.  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.  Enjoy!