Braciole

Italian sacrilege! I am told by Italian friends that Italians would NEVER serve the braciole with the pasta. They would first eat the pasta with the braciole sauce (primi course), and then serve the braciole with perhaps some vegetables (secondi course). Suite yourself; I love this dish eaten all together.
1-1/2 lb very thinly-sliced beef skirt steak, braciole, about 6-8 slices
1 package frozen quartered artichoke hearts, thawed
1 leek, cleaned and diced
10 oz fresh mushrooms
1/4 cup golden raisins (or dried apricots), chopped

1/4 cup pecans
1 cup panko crumbs
1/4 cup grated Parmesan or Romano cheese
palmful fresh parsley

1 can petite diced tomatoes, drained, liquid reserved
1 cup beef stock

3 cloves garlic, smashed with the flat side of a knife, but left whole
8 oz favorite pasta

Preheat oven to 375F. Start the filling by toasting the pecans in the oven for about 5 minutes, watching carefully. You just want the nutty flavor to evolve, but not to burn the nuts. Remove the pecans from the oven and toss in a small food processor. Pulse to coarsely chop. Tip the nuts into a small bowl with the panko, Parmesan and parsley.

Heat a bit of olive oil in a very large non-stick skillet. Add the leek and a tablespoon of water. Cook the leek for about 5-8 minutes until the water evaporates and the leek begins to brown. Add the artichokes and cook another 5-8 minutes, to slightly brown them.

Set veggie mixture aside in a bowl.

Now heat the pan to high and add a bit of olive oil. Toss in the mushrooms and allow them to sizzle and release what water they will. Add the raisins and allow the mushrooms to brown nicely.

Tip mushroom mixture into bowl with artichokes.

Again, heat the pan to high with a bit of olive oil. Tip in the drained tomatoes and allow them to sizzle away, shaking the pan from time to time. Allow the tomatoes to caramelize and develop flavor for about 10 minutes.

Add the reserved tomato liquid and the beef stock and bring to a boil. Set to a low simmer and allow the sauce to cook down a bit.

Meanwhile toss together the bread crumb mixture and the veggie mixture. Lay out the braciole strips and top each one with some filling. Don’t overfill, or the filling with run out as they cook. Roll each braciola up and secure with some toothpicks.

Heat 2 quarts of salted water in a medium pot.

Now heat another very large non-stick skillet and add some olive oil. Toss in the garlic and lay down the braciole rolls.

Brown both sides of the braciole for about 4-5 minutes per side.

Now tip in the sauce all around the braciole and cover the pan. Cook over low heat for about 10 minutes, until the braciole are cooked through.

While the braciole cook, cook the pasta to al-dente. Drain and toss with a bit of the bacilli sauce. . Plate the pasta and top with a braciola.

Serves 4-6.

Cook’s Note: You can stuff braciole with many things - here I used a mixture with bread crumbs, mushrooms, leek and artichoke.

I have also substituted the mushrooms and leek for chorizo - or just add chorizo or italian sausage.  Another classic is to add a slice of prociutto on each braciola before adding the stuffing.