Thin slices of beef topped with a cheese, herb, breadcrumb, pine nut, and raisin mixture, then rolled up pinwheel style and slow cooked in a tomato sauce
2poundsbraciole meatat my butcher, they were referred to as beef roll ups
Other:
116 oz box spaghetti, cooked al dente
fresh basilchopped, for garnish
Instructions
First, make your sauce. Drizzle the olive oil to a Dutch oven or large pot over medium heat. Add in the onions and cook until fragrant, about 5 minutes.
Follow with the garlic, parsley, basil, oregano, crushed red pepper, and tomato paste, stirring to combine. Cook for 2 minutes.
Add in the wine and cook, stirring occasionally, until most of the wine has evaporated, about 5 minutes.
Stir in the stewed tomatoes and bring to a boil. Lower the heat, season with salt and pepper, and cover. Let simmer for 30 minutes.
While the sauce cooks, combine the breadcrumbs, pecorino romano, fresh parsley and fresh basil in a medium sized bowl. Season with salt and pepper and set aside.
Add the raisins to a small bowl, then fill with the wine. Set aside.
Toast your pine nuts in a saute pan over medium heat until fragrant and lightly browned. Keep an eye on them, as they can go from no color to burnt very quickly! Remove from heat and set aside.
Add 2 tablespoons to a saute pan over medium heat. Add in the onions and cook, stirring occasionally, until fragrant, about 5 minutes.
Follow with the garlic and crushed red pepper, stirring constantly, for 1 to 2 minutes, or until the garlic is cooked but not browned.
Carefully pour in the raisins and wine mixture into the pan. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the wine is mostly evaporated, about 5 minutes.
Remove from heat, and stir the onion mixture into your breadcrumb mixture, along with 2 more tablespoons olive oil. The mixture should resemble coarse sand.
Lay a couple of the braciole slides on a cutting board.
Spoon some of the breadcrumb mixture on to each slice, pressing down so that the mixture is evenly distributed on each piece.
Starting at a short end, roll up the meat tightly into a pinwheel, then secure in place with toothpicks. Season the roll ups with salt and pepper, and repeat with your remining slices and filling.
When your tomato sauce has finished cooking, remove from heat and blend using an immersion blender. Add back to the stovetop over low heat.
Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large saute pan over medium heat. Add a few braciole roll ups at a time and brown on all sides, about 5 minutes. Note: I push the toothpicks through it as I rotate so I can evenly brown the meat.
Remove from the pan and place in the pot with the sauce. Repeat with your remaining braciole.
Cover the pot and simmer for 3 to 4 hours.
When there is about 30 minutes left of cook time, bring a large pot of water to a boil. Salt the water and cook the spaghetti according to package directions for al dente.
Before straining the pasta, scoop about 1/2 cup of the pasta water into the tomato sauce pot and stir gently to combine. (Note: the Sicilian braciole at this stage will be very delicate, so if you’d prefer to remove the braciole with tongs before stirring in the pasta water, feel free to do so.)
To serve, divide the spaghetti among bowls. Top with a piece of Sicilian braciole, removing the toothpicks before serving, and extra tomato sauce. Garnish with fresh basil.
Notes
If you make this recipe, share a photo on Instagram and tag me @icancookthat!