An American Version of an Italian Classic.

Braciole is the Italian Classic; thinly sliced steak stuffed, rolled and cooked in a tomato sauce. So when I pulled out the package of thin round steaks, I asked my hubby, do you want Braciole, or something entirely different?  He wanted the different, well what he really wanted was what I had had for my birthday dinner, but not until I found Rib Eyes on sale again.  I could, however, accommodate him with the sautéed mushrooms and onions, but what to do with the steak was still the main question.  Then I thought about mixing the sautéed mixture in with stuffing, that would be one side dish, and browning zucchini slices in olive oil would be the other side dish.  The steak...oh yeah, what about the steak?  "Hunny, what if I made up some cornbread stuffing and mixed in the mushrooms and onions?", I asked.  "Oh, that sounds good!", says hubby.  "Hunny, what if I took that stuffing mixture, rolled it up in the steak and made a brown gravy to do on it?", I asked.  "Oh, that sounds even better!!", he says.  Off to the kitchen I flew!

It wasn't difficult to put together, and I decided that rolling the steak the traditional "Braciole" way wouldn't do, as the stuffing was too bulky this time.  It was better to just draw one end over the stuffing, pull over the other end and then seal the sides with toothpicks.  It still was in the shape of a "rolled" steak, so that aspect stayed in the name...Stuffed Steak Rolls.  I used beef broth as my cooking liquid which could be strained and then used to make a rich gravy.  I did not season the steak before I began working with it; the inside will pick up flavors from the stuffing, while the exterior will be absorbing flavors from the broth.  Yes, I keep boxes of stuffing mix, or bags of seasoned stuffing cubes in the home; it works great for those spontaneous recipes that call for it.  The zucchini slices were easy too, and I'll give further details on that after the steak recipe.

Stuffed Steak Rolls

Ingredients:

4 Tbsp olive oil

1 large onion, chopped
1/2 tsp each salt, ground black pepper, garlic powder
1 lb. sliced mushrooms
1 (6 oz) box of cornbread stuffing
2  and 1/2 lbs. (8 pieces) thinly sliced round steak
1 (10.5 oz) can beef broth
2 Tbsp cornstarch

Preparation:

 

Heat 4 tablespoons olive oil in a large skillet, medium-high heat; spread on onions, sprinkle seasoning over them, spread out mushrooms over the onions.  Let cook for 3 minutes before mixing the onions and mushrooms together; let cook another 3 minutes before removing from heat.  At the same time, prepare the cornbread stuffing according to package directions; add the sautéed mixture to stuffing and mix together thoroughly.

 

 

 

 

 

Preheat oven to 350F; spray a 4 quart baking dish with nonstick cooking spray.  Onto the center of each slice of steak, put a half cup of stuffing keeping it in a mound.  Any extra stuffing can be served as a garnish to the side of the rolls when served.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Fold one end of the steak over the stuffing; fold the other end over the first; seal the ends with toothpicks and place the roll into the baking dish. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Once all the rolls are done and in the dish, pour the beef broth over the rolls; cover the baking dish with aluminum foil. 

 

Bake for 30 minutes covered; uncover and bake for an additional 15 minutes.  Remove rolls from baking dish, strain liquid and pour into a small saucepan.  On high heat, whisk in cornstarch and bring to a boil; continue to boil for 3 minutes before serving over the steak rolls.

Makes 8 servings.

 

For the zucchini side dish, take two large zucchini and cut 1/4 inch slices; either round, or hold the knife at an angle to make oval slices; lightly season both sides of the slices with ground black pepper.  Heat four tablespoons of olive oil in a large skillet on medium-high heat; place the zucchini into the skillet and brown both sides; about 3 to 5 minutes per side.  Remove the slices to a serving bowl and season with medium crushed sea salt; it will give a salty surprise crunch to the zucchini.

Makes 8 servings.

Here is the final dish, one Stuffed Steak Roll with gravy, zucchini slices browned in olive oil and some extra stuffing on the side for a little preview of what is inside the steak roll.  Very nice, very nice indeed.

Mary Cokenour