Roman Style Beef Rolls

Roman Style Beef Rolls

"Mof Mof" - Minimum of fuss, maximum of flavour. Antonio Carluccio's famous approach sums up Italian cuisine perfectly. I've always been a fan. My favourite childhood dish - Spaghetti Bolognese or Pizza (neither of which happened to be particularly Italian, as it turns out!). There was always something about the Italian approach to food that enthralled me. It's deceptively simple, it's delicious and most importantly it's humble. I have been going through the monstrous La Cucina - The Regional Cooking of Italy book for the past few months to discover dishes that I had yet to come across. This is my take on the Roman classic.

The beef doesn't have to be minute steaks, it can be almost any cut, just ensure it's quite thin. This dish can also be made with fresh tomatoes but I prefer a good Italian tinned tomato. It's best to remove the twine or toothpicks from the rolls before serving, it's a bit too fiddly to expect diners to do it at the table.

Serves 2

3 tbsp Extra-Virgin Olive Oil
1 Onion (finely sliced)
1 Carrot (cut into matchsticks)
1 stick of Celery (cut into matchsticks)
4 Minute Steaks (as thin as you can find)
4 slices of Prosciutto di Parma
75ml Dry White Wine
1 Tin of Cherry Tomatoes (400g)
Sea Salt and Freshly Ground Pepper

1. First make the beef rolls: put the steaks between two pieces of cling film (or grease proof paper) and pound them with a rolling pin or meat tenderiser. Season both sides before laying flat. Put a slice of prosciutto ontop of each followed by 4-5 pieces each of the celery and carrot. Roll up tightly and tie with butchers string or hold together with tooth picks.

2. Heat the oil over a medium-high heat and add the onion. Season well and cook for 5-6 minutes until the onion starts to brown. Add the beef rolls and brown all over before adding the wine.

3. Cook the alcohol off for 3-4 minutes before adding the tinned tomatoes. Bring to the boil, turn down the heat and simmer, covered, for 15 minutes. Turn the beef rolls over every 5 minutes. When the 15 minutes is up remove the lid and continue to cook for 5 more minutes to thicken the sauce a little. Check for seasoning and serve with some toasted sourdough to mop up the sauce.

Whole Chicken Pt.1: Spaghetti with Tomato Sauce

There's nothing like a bit of frugal cooking! Cheap cuts and pantry staples often come together to form delicious meals that can have far more flavour than something that costs ten times the amount. This can also extend to getting the most out of an expensive ingredient by using it to its full potential. This is part 1 of 3 of my favourite ways to use a whole chicken to feed 4 people for 3 nights. A chicken can be a relatively expensive purchase (especially if, like me, you buy organic or free range) but by getting 12 dinners out of it, it becomes quite cheap. 

First I like to pot roast the chicken in a tomato sauce. All the wonderful juices from the chicken pour out into the sauce and give it a wonderful flavour, perfect over pasta. This leaves us still with a full chicken to use up over the next two days.

Serves 4

3 tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
2 cloves of Garlic (finely chopped)
1 Chilli (finely chopped)
50 ml of White Wine (optional)
2 Tins of Chopped Tomatoes
1 Bay Leaf
1/2 tsp Dried Oregano
1 Whole Chicken (organic or free range if possible)
Pinch of Dried Marjoram
400g Spaghetti
Sea Salt and Freshly Ground Pepper
Freshly Grated Parmesan Cheese (to serve)

Use a pot/casserole big enough to hold the chicken and ensure it has a tight fitting lid.

1. Heat 2 tbsp of the oil over a medium heat and add the garlic and chilli. Season well and cook for 4-5 minutes to soften, being careful not to burn the garlic.

2. Add the wine and allow the alcohol to cook off for a few minutes before adding the tins of tomatoes. Bring to the boil and add the bay leaf and oregano.

3. Put the chicken on top of the sauce and pour over the remaining 1 tbsp of oil. Season well with salt, pepper and dried marjoram. Put the lid on the pot and put into a pre heated 190 degree oven for about 1 hour or until the chicken is cooked through. Remove the chicken and set aside.

4. Meanwhile cook the spaghetti in plenty (4 litres or more) of salted boiling water until al dente (or 1 minute less than packet instructions). Drain and add to the sauce. Toss well to coat all the pasta and serve with some freshly grated parmesan over the top.