What’s cooking?…Steak alla pizzaiola

Jun 3rd, 2009

Otherwise known as steak in the style of the pizza-man. I’m assuming it gets it’s name because the sauce, which is made with oregano, tastes like pizza sauce.

origano

But, don’t get hung up on the word steak, which makes me start thinking about filet mignon or porterhouse. It’s actually made with what are called fettine in Italian. Fettine (the plural of fettina) are thin slices of beef – sometimes called escalope in English. (Yes, escalope is a French word and, I believe, originally only really referred to veal, but I’ve often seen it used when referring to beef).

Ideally, the fettine should be extremely thin (about 1/4 inch). If you can’t find slices of beef that thin, then you can use a meat mallet and pound them down a bit.

Fettine are often used to make involtini, saltimbocca, or are breaded and sauteed (called Milanese). In fact, I bought mine to make saltimbocca, but, knowing what might happen, I bought a little extra so that I could use only the nicest looking ones. The “ugly” ones were perfect for making pizzaiola since they get covered with sauce.

pizzaiola

This is a great dish for kids. Just call it pizza steak and you’ve got it made, right? After all, what kid doesn’t like pizza? But, it also happens to be very tasty for grown ups. I’m a great fan of just about any kind of meat cooked in tomato sauce and this one doesn’t disappoint.

Ingredients

1 lb thin sliced beef (fettine)
1/2 cup red wine
2 cups chopped canned tomatoes
2 cloves of garlic, crushed
3-4 fresh basil leaves, chopped
1 teaspoon oregano
salt
about 1 tablespoon olive oil

Heat the olive oil in a frying pan over medium high heat. Add the fettine, but don’t crowd the pan, cook only two or three at a time, depending on the size of the pan. All you really want to do here is brown them quickly. It should only take a minute or two per side, so brown one side, flip it over, then remove it to a platter. Continue until all of the steaks are cooked and removed to a platter.

Pour the red wine into the hot pan and stir a little bit to loosen any bits from the bottom. Then add the garlic, cook for a minute only, then add the tomatoes. Don’t leave the garlic for too long by itself because it will toast and ruin the flavor.

Bring the tomatoes to a simmer, salt to taste and add the steaks back to the pan. Lower the temperature to medium, cover and allow to simmer for about 20 minutes.

Now, add the chopped fresh basil and oregano to the sauce and stir to mix well. I use more than a teaspoon of oregano because I like the flavor. So, if you like oregano, don’t be afraid to add more.

And that’s all there is to it. Serve with some crusty bread to soak up the sauce and enjoy!