King Cake

King Cake

Tuesday, February 8, 2011

Bruccoloni suggested by Larry Buccola

When most people think about New Orleans Cuisine, Italian is not what comes to mind first. In the last 1800's, large number of immigrants from Sicily began to settle in South Louisiana. The Sicilians and the Creoles started combining their cuisines. There are many fantastic Italian restaurants in New Orleans. You can find some of the best meals in these restaurants.  Bruccoloni can be made with either beef of veal. Not often will you find it on a restaurant menu. But I guarantee if you do find a restaurant that serves this dish, you will have one of your best Italian meals.

Bruccoloni

2 Beef top round steaks, ¼ inch thick
1 Cup Italian Flavored Bread Crumbs
2 Eggs, slightly beaten
4 Large Garlic Cloves, minced
½ Cup grated Parmesan Cheese
1 Medium Onion, finely diced
2 Hard Boiled Eggs, chopped
Creole Seasoning
½ Cup Olive Oil
Quick Italian Red Sauce
Cooked Pasta
Grated Parmesan Cheese

Place steaks on a cutting board, trim fat from edges. Pound steaks to 1/8 inch thick, taking care not to tear. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a medium bowl, combine bread crumbs, beaten eggs, garlic and cheese. Spread mixture over steaks, leaving a inch border at long edges. Scatted onions and boiled eggs over breadcrumb mixture. Beginning at long edges, roll tightly, like a jelly roll. Tie securely with butcher’s string. Sprinkle Creole Seasoning over rolls. Heat olive oil in a heavy skillet 12” skillet over medium heat. Add steak rolls, one at a time and brown on both sides. Place  browned rolls in a 13x9” baking dish. Pour Quick Italian Red Sauce over top of meat rolls. Bake in preheated oven until the meat is fork tender, about 45 minutes.  To serve, remove string and slice 1/2” thick slices. Serve with pasta topping meat and pasta with sauce and Parmesan cheese.


Quick Italian Red Sauce

1 (29oz.) can Tomato Sauce
1 (6oz.) can Tomato Paste
1 Tablespoon Butter
1 ½ Tablespoons Chopped Garlic
¼ Cup Chopped Onions
1 Tablespoon Italian Seasoning
1 Tablespoon Oregano
2 Teaspoons Basil
1 Teaspoon Chopped Parsley
2 Tablespoons Sugar

Melt butter in saucepan. Over medium heat, saute onions and garlic in butter until the onions are soft about 3 minutes. Mix in the tomato sauce and tomato paste, making sure the paste does not remain in lumps. Add the rest of ingredients and mix well.  Taste and adjust the sauce to your taste. Cook until warm.

Enjoy

2 comments:

  1. I had a regular customer of mine who was researching the influx of Italian immigrants to New Orleans. It was around the mid 1800's when there was a huge yellow fever epidemic. At the time, Italians were starting to immigrate into the US with different sections immigrating to different areas of the US. That's why the make up the New Orleans Italians is predominately Sicilian. They came as unskilled labor to work in what was at the time a growing port city. The peak of immigration was around 1880. I just thought that was kind of interesting and a part of our city's history I never knew. I did have tons of Italian friends growing up and that's probably why there are so many Catholic churches, Mardi Gras, and why we used to get off of school for all those saints days in elementary school. It's also why we still gave up something for lent and didn't eat meat on Fridays even though we weren't Catholic. Man I miss that city. ((Sigh))

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  2. There were two waves of Sicilians into New Orleans. The first as mentioned above and the second after 1900. Many of the second wave, including my grandfather, were "truck farmers" who grew their produce in Lakeview and sold it in the French Market.

    And did you know that originally, Italians were considered black and had to abide by the racial segregation (i.e. drink from the black water fountain)? That was until Louisiana passed a law making Italians white. Bet you didn't know you had black ancestors.....

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