Beef Escolopes Italian Style Food

BRACIOLA - BRACIOLE (ITALIAN STUFFED BEEF ROLLS)

Steps:

• Pound the steak very thin and cut into 4 pieces.
• Place a slice of mozzarella on each piece, then top with parmesan, garlic powder, salt and pepper.
• Roll each piece up tightly and secure with a string.
• Heat the olive oil in a large nonstick skillet and brown the rolls evenly on each side.
• Drop them in your favorite pasta sauce and allow them to simmer for 2 hours or until tender and cooked through. (The meat will add a wonderful flavor to your sauce!).
• Remove the strings and serve.
• (Alternative: Assemble and brown the beef rolls the night before and store them in the fridge. Then drop the rolls and the sauce in your crockpot and cook on low for 8 hours the next day).

VEAL PARMIGIANA

Steps:

• Italian immigrants brought this dish to America, and since then veal parmigiana has become a classic New York dish, and rightly so. I love it when it's layered up like this, with the tomato sauce and cheese, then baked in the oven to gratinate. Feel free to swap veal for pork leg or even chicken that's been battered out. If you want to spike this with a bit of extra flavour you could also add a few capers or olives to the tomato sauce.
• Preheat your oven to 200ºC/400ºF/gas 6. Pick the leaves off the sprigs of basil and put them into a small bowl of water to keep them fresh. Finely chop the tender stalks. Put a pan on a medium heat and add a splash of olive oil, the chopped basil stalks, garlic and anchovies and cook for a few minutes. Prick the chilli a few times and add it to the pan. Allow everything to sizzle for a minute or so, then pour in the tinned tomatoes. Bring to the boil, then turn the heat down and simmer for 20 minutes. Season to taste with sea salt and black pepper.
• Meanwhile, prepare your escalopes. Mix the breadcrumbs in a bowl with the thyme leaves and Parmesan. Finely grate your lemon zest into the breadcrumbs, mix again, then lay out three plates in front of you. Put the flour on one and season it with salt and pepper, pour the eggs on to the next plate and put the herby breadcrumbs on the third. Dip the escalopes, one at a time, into the flour until well coated. Shake off any excess, then dip into the egg. Let the extra egg drip off, then lay the escalope in the breadcrumb mixture. Sprinkle a handful of crumbs over the top and press them down. Make a real point of getting breadcrumbs on to every part of the escalope.
• Heat a large non-stick frying pan over a medium heat and add a good splash of olive oil. Let it heat up a bit, then add your escalopes. If your pan isn't big enough, you may have to cook them in batches, adding a little extra oil if needed. Cook for a few minutes on each side until lightly golden, then transfer to a plate lined with kitchen paper to drain. Get yourself a snug-fitting, appropriately sized baking dish (approx. 30 x 20cm) and spread the tomato sauce in the dish. Lay your escalopes on top, side by side. Tear the buffalo mozzarella into pieces and dot these over the dish with a few basil leaves.
• Bake in the oven for 20 minutes until golden, bubbling and deliciously cooked. Sprinkle the rest of the basil leaves over. Perfect with a crunchy zingy salad, but in America they'd also serve it with things like spaghetti, rice or mashed potatoes, polenta or crusty bread.

SALTIMBOCCA ALLA ROMANA

Steps:

• Place the veal escalopes on a chopping board, leaving a little space between them. Cover with clingfilm and, using your fists or a rolling pin, bash them out until they are about 5mm thick, then discard the clingfilm. Season both sides of the flattened veal with a little black pepper (there's no need for salt as the prosciutto is quite salty). Lay 2 sage leaves flat on each piece of veal, then place 2 pieces of prosciutto on top to cover the meat, and fold over the sides to neaten up.
• Heat a frying pan over a medium heat and add 1 tbsp butter and a drizzle of oil. Add 2 escalopes to the pan and fry for about 2 minutes on each side, until golden brown.
• When done, remove to a plate and cover with foil to keep warm. Fry the other 2 escalopes in the same way, then remove to the plate, cover with foil and set aside.
• Put the pan back on the heat, add the remaining butter and the marsala and simmer for 1 minute until you have a lovely sweet, glossy sauce.
• Serve the saltimbocca with pasta, polenta or boiled or roast potatoes, and cut the lemon into wedges for squeezing over.

BEEF ESCOLOPES ITALIAN STYLE

Steps:

• Cover your steak with cling film and batter it untill you have as thin a layer as you can manage
• Beat the eggs in a bowl and mix in 1 teaspoon garlic powder and pinch of salt and pepper to taste
• Mix breadcrumbs with parmesan and place in seperate bowl
• Heat olive oil in frying pan over medium heat. test with bread to see if oil bubbling when bread put in.
• Place steak in egg mix and cover all over
• Take steak out and cover in breadcrumb/parmesan mix
• Place carefully in frying pan. It should only take 2 mins or so either side or untill nicely browned. Ensure oil is neither to hot or to cold
• Take out of pan and leave to drain on kitchen paper
• Whilst still warm squeeze a little lemon juice over the steak
• Leave to cool and eat at room temperature. Ideal for buffets cut into strips or as a lunch with salad.

VEAL ESCALOPES WRAPPED WITH PROSCIUTTO, SAGE & LEMON (SALTIMBOCCA)

Steps:

• Bash out the escalopes until they are about 5mm thick. Place a sage leaf on each one, wrap with the prosciutto, then press another sage leaf on top and flatten out with your hand. Dust lightly with the seasoned flour.
• Heat the oil and the butter in a large frying pan until foaming, and fry the veal for 4-5 mins on each side until the prosciutto is crisp, then remove from the pan. Add the Marsala wine to the pan and sizzle to make a sauce, scraping any tasty bits off the bottom. Add the lemon juice to taste. Put the veal back in the pan to heat through, then serve with a green salad and some fried potatoes or crusty bread.