Steak Italian-Style in a Slow Cooker
Description
This is a wonderful Italian preparation of a boneless, beef round steak.
At a Glance
Equipment
The only equipment needed for this great recipe is a slow cooker / crock pot.
Ingredients
For the filling:
½ cup pine nuts (roasted with a little Montreal Steak seasoning, and then coarsely chopped – see below)
3 cloves of garlic minced
3 tablespoons of coarsely chopped basil
¼ teaspoon coarsely chopped sage
½ teaspoon coarsely chopped thyme
1 teaspoon Montreal Steak Seasoning
1 tablespoon flat leaf parsley
¼ teaspoon pepper
1 ½ tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
8 slices of prosciutto
16 slices of spicy dry Italian salami (like a soppresata – I have also used pepperoni which is a hit with kids)
1 to 2 ounces dried porcini mushrooms
2 cups beef broth
½ cup dry red wine
1 and ½ to 2 pounds of boneless round steak (trim the fat off)
Pound out to thin the steaks and make them even thickness of about ¼ inch, and cut into 8 strips 3 to four inches wide.
1 package of brown gravy mix
Directions
Boil 1 cup of beef broth either on the stove or in the microwave and put the porcini mushrooms in the boiling broth to rehydrate. Let it sit until it cools completely and the mushrooms are soft. Strain the mushrooms and discard the liquid.
Heat the oven to 350 degrees F, and spray a pie tin with cooking spray, such as Pam with Olive Oil. Put the pine nuts in the pie tin and spray them lightly with the cooking spray too. Lightly season the pine nuts with about 1 teaspoon of McCormick Montreal Steak Seasoning – mixing the pine nuts around to coat them evenly with the spray and the seasoning. Put the pine nuts into the hot oven for about 10 minutes (be careful not to burn them or they will taste bitter, but roasting them will bring out their flavor nicely). After 10 minutes, take the pine nuts out of the oven, set aside and let them cool completely. Once the pine nuts have cooled, place them along with the garlic, herbs, additional seasonings and the olive oil into a food processor. Process until it becomes a nice thick paste. Place the strips of steak on a flat surface, place a slice of prosciutto, 2 slices of the salami, and 1/8 of the herb/pine nut mixture on each strip of steak. Roll up each steak and then tie them with a string at each end. Place the steak rolls in the slow cooker, add the cooled mushrooms, the remaining cup of beef broth, and the wine to the slow cooker, and cook on low for 6 to 7 hours.
Take the meat out and place on a serving dish, and use an immersion blender to blend all of the mushroom and other small pieces left in the slow cooker. Once the liquid is an even consistency and there are no large chunks, pour it into a sauce pan and heat to a boil. In a small bowl, mix the package of gravy with a small amount of water (like a couple of tablespoons), and then slowly whisk into the sauce pan. Bring to a boil and then let it thicken. Once thickened, pour a little over the meat and serve the rest in a gravy bowl on the side. Serve immediately.
