Erica De Mane

Recipe: Grilled Beef Bracioline with Mint and Anchovy Vinaigrette

If I relied exclusively on chefs and cooks for culinary inspiration, I’d probably be permanently stunted. I’ve learned plenty from working with chefs and from reading their recipes, don’t get me wrong. But I’ve never had a mentor. I do have a muse, and regular readers of my blog know about my relationship with Anna Magnani.  She gives me power. Power from another person’s creative force, as long as you’re able to absorb it, can energize you (it’s got to be the right kind of power, and you’ve got to be in the mood). I even get inspiration from her misguided power in the film Bellissima, where she plays a driven, desperate stage mom,. That’s because her power emanates from love.

I call on Miss Anna Magnani when I’m feeling confused or weak, such as now. I’ve been trying to create some fresh Sicilian-inspired dishes, but I keep running into heaviness. Maybe it’s winter, or maybe I’m just stuck, but I recently asked her for help and she came through, as she almost always does (the only time she told me to go to hell was when I asked her to teach me how to love the cooking of the Italian Alps, which, as it turned out, neither of us recognizes as legitimate Italian food). Admittedly Miss Magnani, Roman through and through, doesn’t know much about Sicilian food, but she knows enough to see where its greatness comes from. She loves anchovies, and she loves sharpness and sweetness. I told her I needed to get away from winter cooking without getting away from winter, kind of a confusing request but she knew what I meant. “Cook meat, make it bold, but make it quick. No long-simmered stews or tomato sauces. Make vinaigrettes to sauce meat and fish.” That was her advice. Not particularly poetic, but I was too anxious to spend time figuring out a cryptic message, and she knew it.

Sicilians love to concoct spunky stuffings for rolled packets of meat, fish, or vegetables. It’s a time-honored cucina povera trick to make a little go a long way. It’s a favorite food preparation for me, and I return to it over and over, using the same economical philosophy but always trying to change the feel of the finished product, since it’s basically an exercise in improvisation. And rolling and filling things is fun. Miss Magnani reminded me that lately I wasn’t having enough fun in cooking, or in life. She said, “Sometimes you just have to work it.” She was right, of course. Only kids have access to unlimited spontaneous fun.

I listened, I lightened up, and I fired up my grill plate. Here’s a very quick-cooked version of braciole (or bracioline, which is what you’d call this smaller version.) It’s a dish that’s usually slow-simmered in a tomatoey wine sauce, but I chose a beef top round, a cut that can be quick-cooked and stay tender. It’s a supermarket cut that I often find ready-sliced into thin cutlets. I kept the filling fairly classic, but sauced the things, as instructed, with a vinaigrette. Thanks, Miss Magnani. You’ve come through again.

Grilled Beef Bracioline with Mint and Anchovy Vinairgrette

(Serves 4)

8 thin slices beef top round, about 4 by 5 inches, pounded
Salt
Black pepper
About a tablespoon of sugar
Extra-virgin olive oil
¼ teaspoon ground allspice
½ cup blanched, lightly toasted almonds, minced
1 small garlic clove, minced
The grated zest from 1 lemon
½ cup grated pecorino Toscano cheese
5 mint sprigs, the leaves lightly chopped
10 large sprigs flat-leaf parsley, the leaves lightly chopped
Toothpicks

1 head frisée, chicory, or punterelle lettuce, torn into bite-size pieces

For the vinaigrette:

4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil (preferably a great Sicilian oil such as Ravida)
1 garlic clove, peeled and smashed
3 anchovies, minced
½ pint grape tomatoes, quartered
The juice from 1 small lemon
¼ teaspoon sugar
A pinch of salt
Freshly ground black pepper
A handful of fresh mint leaves, plus a few sprigs for garnish

Season the beef slices on both sides with salt, black pepper, and the sugar, and lay them out flat on a work surface.

In a small bowl, mix 2 tablespoons of olive oil with the allspice, almonds, garlic, lemon zest, pecorino, mint, and parsley. Season with a little salt and black pepper. Mix well. Press a thin layer of the filling onto each slice of beef, and roll them up from their narrower ends. Fasten each one with a toothpick.

Set up a stove-top grill plate, and get it hot over medium-high heat.

In a small bowl, mix together all the ingredients for the vinaigrette.

Drizzle the bracioline with a little olive oil, and place them on the grill, turning them a few times, until they’re browned all over and are just tender, about 5 minutes. They should still be a bit pink inside. Take them from the grill and let them rest a minute.

Set up a large platter, and line it with the frisée or chicory or puntarelle. Pull out the toothpicks, and slice the bracioline into thick pieces, on an angle, arranging them on the salad. Pour the vinaigrette over the top. Give everything a few grindings of fresh black pepper, and garnish with mint sprigs. Serve right away with good Italian bread. If you have a big appetite, this could be an antipasto, although with a side of rice or potato salad it makes a very ample main course.