▶The Neapolitan Braciolone is a sumptuous second course from the Neapolitan tradition, often a star of Sunday lunches and holidays.
▶It is a large meat roll stuffed with hard-boiled eggs, bacon, provolone, grated pecorino, and slowly cooked in a rich tomato sauce.
▶Its rich and flavorful sauce is ideal for dressing a pasta dish, such as ziti or rigatoni, for a complete first course.
- Difficulty: Medium
- Cost: Inexpensive
- Preparation time: 10 Minutes
- Portions: 6People
- Cooking methods: Slow cooking, Stovetop
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: All seasons
Ingredients
- 1 slice beef steak (about 1.76 lbs) (eye of round or top round)
- 2 hard-boiled eggs
- 3.5 oz bacon (sliced)
- 3.5 oz sweet provolone (or scamorza – sliced)
- 1.75 oz grated pecorino
- 1.75 oz pine nuts
- 1.75 oz raisins (soaked and squeezed)
- 1 clove garlic (minced)
- to taste parsley
- to taste salt and pepper
- 4 cups tomato puree
- 1 onion (chopped)
- 1 glass red wine
- to taste extra virgin olive oil
- to taste salt
Tools
- Kitchen Twine
Steps
Prepare the filling: In a bowl, mix the minced garlic, parsley, pecorino, pine nuts, raisins, salt, and pepper.
Stuff the meat: Lay out the slice of meat on a surface, distribute the bacon slices on top, then the prepared mixture, slices of provolone, and hard-boiled egg wedges.
Roll and tie: Roll the meat onto itself, forming a compact cylinder. Secure tightly with kitchen twine to maintain shape during cooking.
Brown: In a large pot, heat some oil and brown the braciolone on all sides until golden.
Deglaze: Add the chopped onion and let it wither. Deglaze with the red wine and let the alcohol evaporate.
Cook in sauce: Add the tomato puree, adjust seasoning with salt, and let cook on low heat for about 2 hours, turning occasionally, until the meat is tender and the sauce is reduced.Serve: Remove the twine, slice the braciolone, and serve with the hot sauce.
I accompanied the Braciolone with a Neapolitan liquor very trendy today: Santo Babà, based on babà, a yeast cake soaked with rum, and milk.
