This is a wonderful Sunday meal and tastes just like your Nonna was cooking all day. These little meat parcels are a common dish in Italy, but often go by other names depending on the specific region. It can be made with pork or beef. As an added benefit, the house smells amazing.
Ingredients
Parcels
6 pieces of pork or beef pounded flat, like a scaloppini. About 2 lbs.
Aged Provolone Cheese
Romano Cheese
Parsley
Garlic, crushed
Prosciutto, sliced thin
Salt and Pepper
Olive Oil
Butchers Twine
Sauce
1 large Onion, finely chopped
½ cup Carrot, finely chopped
½ cup Celery, finely chopped
3 Tbsp Olive Oil
½ cup Marsala Wine
3 28 oz cans of crushed Tomatoes
Salt and Pepper
Begin by preparing your sauce. Take a large cast iron or heavy duty pan and heat the olive oil. Then add the onion, carrot, celery and salt and pepper and cook on medium heat for 10 minutes or until translucent. Then add Marsala wine and cook until alcohol is gone. Then add tomatoes and bring to a simmer and allow to cook for 1 -2 hours. More is better.
While the sauce is simmering, prepare your braciole. Lay the piece of meat flat and layer with the cheese, prosciutto, parsley and a little bit of crushed garlic. Add a bit of pepper, but no salt, as the prosciutto is salty enough.
Tie up with the butchers twine, by making a first circle around the parcel and tying a knot and then going around 3-4 more times until you are at the end, make another knot and then come back vertically to bring the ends together and tie it off.
Heat your olive oil in a sauté pan, and brown the parcels thoroughly until browned on all sides and gently transfer them to the simmering sauce for at least 45 minutes.
Remove them from the sauce, then cut off the twine, and allow to rest covered for 10 minutes while you prepare your pasta. Serve with pasta of your choice, sauce and extra Romano cheese.
The Louisville Chef 