Dont forget to wipe your shoes

involtini

I wonder why I have not thought about this recipe  before . I could say that  Involtini di carne al sugo , rolled beef in tomatoes sauce, is a dish that  I grew up with.  Infact , this was one of those dishes that my mother made  very often. With this recipe she made everyone happy. My father because as usual, he had the pleasure of eating spaghetti with the sauce that came from the meat , us children because we ate the involtini , always very happily. My mother also, because,  with 1 recipe she was making two dishes! I do also remember that ,with the  sauce that remained on our plates, we always did a Scarpetta (the Scarpetta, meaning small shoe in Italian, is when you clean your plate using little pieces of bread). Our plates  were  so clean after, that they didn’t even need to be washed!). However, it’s been 25 years and I’ve never cooked This dish … … … why?  crazy!  big mistake! Nick was pleasantly shocked when I made it for him, the Involtini  come out soft and the vegetables and pine nuts inside gave a real sweet taste. At the end of the meal as tradition we used the Scarpetta to wipe our plates. Great, no washing up! So welcome back Involtini al sugo!
Serves 4
500 grams of sliced beef
1 carrot, cut into small sticks.
Rosemary
Small leaves of celery
40 grams of pine nuts
250 grams of Passata tomato  
1 chili
2 cloves garlic
EVO oil
Salt

How it works:
Beat the beef slices with a meat mallet, so the slices of meat become thinner. If the meat slices become to large, cut each slice in half. Place at the top of each slice, a few sticks of  carrot, some celery leaves, rosemary, pine nuts and a pinch of salt. Roll and close using a toothpick. In a frying pan cook for a few minutes evo oil, garlic and chilli. Add the beef rolls . Cook and brown  on all sides for a couple of minutes. Add the tomato passata 250 grams. Simmer for 20 minutes. If you want to use the Involtini sauce for pasta also,  use more Tomato Passata in the preparation and cook for a little longer.