Braciole

For me there is something so comforting about Italian food. The smells that warm the house all day while pots simmer on the stove, large family dinners, food that makes you want to take a nap when it’s all over. I absolutely adore Italian cuisine, and this is part of my journey to make traditional dishes healthy without losing all of the wonderful flavors. Here we use new combinations, but all traditional ingredients.  Buon Appetito!

Ingredients for Sauce (or Gravy!)

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 medium onion – diced
• 1 medium bulb garlic – peeled and roughly chopped
• 2 - 28 ounce cans of crush tomatoes
• 1- 28 ounce can tomato puree
• 1 - 6 ounce can tomato paste
• 1 tablespoon dried oregano
• 1 tablespoon dried basil
• 1 tablespoon dried parsley
• 1 teaspoon pepper
• 1 tablespoon salt

Ingredients for the Braciole

• 8 tablespoons pine nuts – toasted and finely chopped
• 4 hard boiled eggs – peeled and finely chopped
• 8 cloves fresh garlic – minced
• 1 large handful fresh basil - chopped
• 1 large handful fresh parsley - chopped
• 2 lbs. boneless top round sliced thin into 8 pieces – pounded flat
• 2 teaspoons garlic powder
• Salt and pepper
• 8 large or 16 small slices of prosciutto (enough to cover a single layer of beef)

Directions

In a large stock pot over medium-low heat, sweat down the onions and garlic for about 15 minutes or until they soften. Add the tomatoes, half a large can of water, and turn heat up to medium. While sauce is coming up to a simmer, add remaining spices. Once up to a good simmer, reduce heat to a low simmer (you may have to adjust periodically). Don’t forget to give it a stir every once in a while to make sure nothing is sticking to the bottom of the pot.

While your sauce is gently simmering, it is time to start the Braciole. Start by toasting your pine nuts. In a dry sauté pan over medium heat, add the nuts and heat for around 8 minutes, stirring occasionally, until golden brown. Remove from heat to cool before handling, then chop roughly in a food processor.

In a mixing bowl, combine the pine nuts, hard boiled egg, fresh minced garlic, basil, and parsley.

Lay your meat out on a clean working surface. If need be – pound flat on a cutting board until no more than 1/8 of an inch thick. Sprinkle each piece lightly with salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Lay the prosciutto across the meat in a single layer, and spread approximately ¼ cup of the mixture across the meat as well.

Roll up the beef rolls tightly and fasten with toothpicks - one at each end pinching it closed, and one in the center if needed. And gently nestle your meat into your sauce.

Turn heat down to low, cover pot, keeping sauce at a low simmer. Turn meat occasionally. Let simmer for around 3 hours.

Beef Stew

Beef stew was a regular meal in my house growing up; always hearty, but full of potatoes. This version loses the starch but none of the flavor. There is plenty of food here so you’ll have plenty for leftovers or to keep in the freezer.

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons grapeseed oil
• 3 to 4 pounds chuck roast – cubed
• 4 pieces thick cut bacon – chopped
• 2 yellow onions – chopped
• 4 medium carrots – peeled and cut into 1 inch pieces
• 4 medium parsnips – peeled and cut into 1 inch pieces
• 4 cloves garlic – minced
• 1 ½ cups red wine
• ½ cup tawny port
• 1 tablespoon tomato paste
• 4 cups chicken broth
• 2 bay leaves
• 4 sprigs fresh thyme
• 3 tablespoons arrowroot flour
• 16 ounces white mushrooms - chopped

Directions

Preheat oven to 300 degrees.

In a large dutch oven heat the oil over medium-high heat and working in batches brown the chuck roast for 5 minutes per side (10 min total). Remove from the pan and set aside.

Add bacon pieces and fry until crisp. Then add the onions, carrots, parsnips, and garlic to the pot, taking a minute to scrape the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon to lift and incorporate the browned bits. Add the wine, port, tomato paste, broth, bay leaves, and thyme. Bring the mixture to a boil and add the arrowroot flour, stirring in well. Mix the beef back to the pot and cover.

Place pot in the oven for 1 ½ to 2 hours, or until the meat in fork tender. Carefully remove the pot from the oven and return to the stove top over medium-low heat, add the mushrooms, and let simmer for a final 10 minutes.

Ragu Bolognese

It was weekend of Hurricane Sandy, and in case we lost power (which we did) I wanted to make sure we had plenty to eat that could be cooked on the gas stovetop. This hearty ragu takes some time to meld, but well worth it. The quantities are perfect for multiple meals, large family dinners,or freezer cooking – so in the end you’ll have a very large amount of meat sauce for your efforts.

Ingredients

• 4 tablespoons grapeseed oil
• 2 yellow onions – diced
• 6 cloves garlic – minced
• 2 red peppers – diced
• 2 ½ pounds meatloaf mix (beef/pork/veal)
• 3 to 4 pounds boneless pork shoulder - cubed
• 2 – 28 oz. cans diced tomatoes
• 2 – 28 oz. cans tomato sauce
• 1 ½ pounds neck bones – wrapped and tied in cheesecloth
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 tablespoon salt
• 1 teaspoon red pepper flake
• 1 tablespoon thyme
• 2 tablespoons parley
• 1 tablespoon oregano

Directions

In a large stock pot, sweat down the onion and garlic over medium-low heat for 8 to 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. While they cook, dice and add the red peppers.

Bring up your heat to medium, add the meatloaf mix and cubed pork shoulder and cook, stirring and breaking up the ground meat with the back of a spoon, until meat is no longer pink, for about 5 minutes.

Add the tomatoes, the neck bones in cheesecloth, and remaining ingredients, and bring up to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low, partially cover the pot, and gently simmer, stirring occasionally. Sauce is done when it has reduced by one-third and the meat has fallen apart, having simmered for around 4 – 5 hours. Remove neck bones and bay leaves and serve over your favorite “noodle.”

Prime Rib with Roasted Garlic and Horseradish Crust

Ingredients

• 30 large garlic cloves, unpeeled
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1/3 cup prepared white creamed horseradish
• 1/2 teaspoon coarse salt
• 1 six-pound well-trimmed boneless beef rib roast

Preparation: Day Before or Hours Ahead:

Preheat oven to 350°F. Toss garlic cloves and olive oil in small baking dish; cover. Bake until garlic begins to brown, about 35 minutes. Drain olive oil into processor. Cool 15 minutes. Peel garlic; place in processor. Add prepared horseradish and coarse salt. Puree until almost smooth.

Place rack on large rimmed baking sheet. Sprinkle beef with salt and pepper. Spread thin layer of garlic mixture on underside of beef. Place beef, garlic mixture side down, onto rack. Spread beef with remaining garlic mixture. Cover and refrigerate at least 3 hours or up to 1 day.

Directions

Position rack in bottom third of oven; preheat to 350°F. Uncover beef. Roast until thermometer inserted into top center registers 120°F for rare, about 1 hour 45 minutes. Transfer beef to platter; cover and let stand 15-20 minutes. Scrape pan juices into small -saucepan and reheat.

Slice beef crosswise. Drizzle juices over beef.

Beef Stroganoff

Ingredients

• 2 pounds sirloin steak, cut into cubes
• 1 cup flour
• 2 tablespoons of your favorite dairy free “butter”
• 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 2 large onions - chopped
• 1 (10.5 ounce) can beef broth
• 1 teaspoon dried basil
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 package fresh mushrooms – sliced
• 3 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
• egg noodles

Directions

Cube the beef and rinse in water. Then in batches, dredge in flour (a sandwich bag works best for me).

In a skillet, heat oil and butter over medium heat. Add dredged beef, one batch at a time; brown on all sides, and then set aside in a separate plate. With your remaining roux in the saucepan, add onions and mushrooms and sauté until tender. Then add broth, basil, salt and pepper, and Worcestershire sauce. Cook on medium-low until mixture thickens, about 10-15 minutes. Serve over egg noodles.

***Using plenty of flour allows the mixture to become thick enough that you do not need sour cream.