This is a simple recipe and one that mum remembers from the time when she was a little girl living in Southern Italy amongst the olive groves and vineyards. It was a time when ingredients and produce where simple, but full of flavour as they were allowed plenty of time to grow and mature. This recipe combines a very tender veal with bread crumbs, parmesan and olive oil, rolled and cooked on an low charcoal flame (they didn’t have stovetops). I like to serve them as entrées whenever I have a barbecue, but they also work well cooked under a grill.

Braciole is the southern Italian (Calabrian) word for Involtini, which essentially means a food item that is rolled and cooked.

These veal Braciole are very tasty and tender little treats. It is important to note that Australian veal is very different to European veal. Animals here are fed a combination of grass and milk and allowed to pasture, resulting in a pink meat, which is not as tender as the white meat produced in Europe and other countries. Read more about it here. Hence, we have “tenderised” the meat prior to cooking. Depending on where you live in the world….you may wish to skip this step.

What you will need:

500 grams thinly sliced veal top side (7-8mm)

1 cup bread crumbs

1/2 cup grated parmesan

1/2 cup olive oil

Salt & Pepper to season

Olive oil to drizzle

How to prepare:

Lay the veal slices flat on a chopping board, and cover with a sheet of baking paper.

Hammer using the flat side of the meat mallet or a rolling pin. (alternatively, you can ask your butcher to tenderise the meat for you).

Cut the veal into strips, approximately 2cm wide by 10cm long and place into a bowl. Season with salt and pepper and add the olive oil. Turn to coat well.

In a small tray, combine the bread crumbs and grated parmesan cheese.

Coat each piece of veal, roll and secure with a toothpick.

Prior to cooking, lightly drizzle with a little more olive oil.

Place under a hot grill or cook over charcoals. When nicely browned, turn and cook the other side.

Serve.