Giada's Braciole

Giada continues to rack up points for her meat recipes after Wednesday night's braciole. I had never even heard of this dish but as I came across it on Pinterest I knew I had to make it. I would encourage you to make sure you check your cook times though before you wait to start something because I forgot and we ended up eating at 8pm, which is late for us. Whoops!

This recipe is really easy but does require patience. It has to cook for 2 hours in the oven and you must turn it every 30 minutes. The work is worth it though!

To start, preheat your oven to 350. Stir 2/3 cup of grated Parmesan, 1/3 cup of grated Provolone (if you can't find Provolone on it's own shredded you can use it mixed with mozzarella), 1/2 cup of Italian breadcrumbs, 2 tablespoons of parsley, 1 minced garlic clove, and 2 tablespoons of olive oil together in a bowl.

Lay the flank steak out on a flat surface and season with salt and pepper, then pat the breadcrumb mixture over the surface of the steak.

Now for the fun part. Starting on the short end, roll up the flank steak as tight as possible and tie with butcher's twine. I initially did not have butcher's twine and was going to abandon it but don't! It's absolutely necessary because the meat will shrink while it cooks and will not stay rolled, causing you to lose all of that delicious filling. Once tied season the outside with more salt and pepper.

Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil over medium heat in a large oven-safe skillet. It must be oven safe! I used my cast iron. Once hot, add your meat and cook on each side just until browned.

Once browned turn down the heat just a hair and add in 1 cup of dry white wine. Bring to a boil, then add in 3 1/4 cups of your favorite marinara sauce.

Partially cover the dish with foil and bake for 1 1/2 hours, turning the meat every 30 minutes and basting it with the sauce. After 1 1/2 hours remove the foil and bake for 30 more minutes uncovered.

Once done remove it from the sauce, cut the twine, and slice into 1/2 inch thick slices. Cover with sauce and serve!

The meat ended up being so tender and we cleaned our plates. We both also love sauce on anything we eat so the fact that this was covered in marinara was a huge plus. This is definitely a great dish to make when you have guests over and I know we'll be making it again just for ourselves!

I served the braciole with cooked broccolini coated in a mixture of 1/4 cup of olive oil, 1 1/2 tablespoons of balsamic vinegar, 1/2 teaspoon of Dijon mustard, 2 minced cloves of garlic, 1/2 teaspoon of black pepper, and a squeeze of fresh lemon juice. So yummy!