Bracciole

Bracciole is an Italian dish, featuring a stuffed meat.  My Nonna made bracciole and my mother learned to make it.  It was one of my dad's favorite dishes.

Nonna, Dad, Nonnu and Aunt Lily

September 10th, 1944

Dad's two older brothers - Matt and Vince were serving in WWII

Nonna and my dad

The key to making a good bracciole is a good sauce.  Here are the recipes for my meat sauce and marinara sauce.

The ingredients for my bracciole:

Flank steak- pounded thin

Parmesan cheese - 1/2 cup

Bread crumbs- 1/2 cup

Fresh parsley - 3 tablespoons

Boiled egg (I know, just go with it)

My grandmother put spinach in hers. Tonight, I'm going to stuff mine with zucchini and a little crushed pine nuts.  Unusual ingredients, but I am entering this into a Fabio Kitchen Challenge!

Pound the flank steak thin.  When I pound meat, I put the meat in a Ziploc bag so as not to tear the meat up.

Assemble the stuffing.  In my case I used the bread crumbs, Parmesan cheese, parsley, boiled eggs, crushed pine nuts and zucchini.  The beauty of bracciole is that you can stuff it with whatever you like.

Roll the steak and tie it off.

Sear the bracciole in a dutch oven or large pot.

Cover with sauce and let it simmer for 2-3 hours.

When you are ready to serve, remove the string and slice.  Serve over sauce.

Mangia!