SICILIAN STUFFED MEAT ROLL

Bruciuluni

 

SICILIAN STUFFED MEAT ROLL

Bruciuluni

 

History

Falsomagro, cornerstone of traditional Sicilian cuisine, is a second course of meat eaten especially on holidays. It’s a slice of beef stuffed with a rich filling, rolled up and cooked in a saucepan, a dish of noble origin, whose many territorial variations are subsequent to its popular diffusion: the recipe lends itself to changes according to different needs, seasonal or economic.

It is believed that the preparation goes back to the time,of the Angevin domination, with the cooks of the French courts committed in satisfying the refined taste of the new rulers. It was meat stuffed with a farce maigre (lean stuffing, without meat or cured meats), cooked for a long time in onions. Food for nobles, unknown to the people for centuries, until its reproduction by the Monsù, in the late XVIII century. In fact, they had to cook meat of old cows, because in Sicily there were only a few breedings of steers and the young animals were used in the agricultural activities: so they opted for long cooking to make them more tasty and tender. Then, probably, there was a misunderstanding about the name of the dish: falsomagro, or rather farsu magro, is the transposition of the French farce maigre, with a shift of meaning derived from the phonetic similarity of the terms farsu (false) and farce (filling). Farsu magru, in common use, thus became synonym for preparation with a filling. In Palermo it is more common the name bruciuluni (braciola – chop), due to the similarity with a large roll (in Sicily and in Southern Italy, the term braciola means meat roll). In the recipes of the Monsù the falsomagro had a rich filling with cheese, eggs, cured meats, vegetables: once ready, it was cut and served in slices. Cooked in simple tomato sauce (or in the tomato extract) – that could be used as condiment for other preparations, for example in baked pasta rings – sometimes it was also used in the meat ragù. It is said that the falsomagro was added by Monsù among the ingredients of the Sicilian ragù to demonstrate the superiority, as richer and tastier than the Neapolitan one. Even today u bruciuluni provides both cooking, and if necessary the sauce is used to season the pasta. Another version, perhaps of Angevin tradition, requires the stewing with onions. In the recipe of Palermo, the filling, in addition to cured meats, vegetables and boiled eggs (or omelette), has a layer of minced meat. Regal and rich in taste, u bruciuluni in Palermo is synonymous with celebration and conviviality.

Recipe

INGREDIENTS (Serves 4)

  • 500g veal rump in a single slice
  • 400g minced meat
  • 50g breadcrumbs
  • 5 eggs
  • 50g grated pecorino cheese
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • nutmeg
  • 1 bunch of parsley
  • 200g fresh spinach
  • 100g fresh caciocavallo cheese
  • 100g salami (or cooked ham)
  • 1 onion
  • extra virgin olive oil
  • a glass of white wine
  • 200g tomato paste (extract)

Boil three eggs for 9 minutes. Clean and wash the spinach, put it in a pan without drying it completely, cover with the lid and cook for a few minutes. Leave them aside once ready. Mix the minced meat with the other two eggs, grated pecorino cheese, chopped parsley, breadcrumbs, salt, pepper and a dusting of nutmeg, until you get a soft mixture. Lay the meat on a work surface and cover it with the slices of salami (or cooked ham), the mixture, the spinach, strips of fresh caciocavallo and the three hard-boiled eggs. Roll the meat up and tie using a string, making sure that the filling does not come out. In a pan brown the chopped onion, then add the meat and brown well. Sprinkle with wine and once it has evaporated add the tomato paste diluted into the warm water, to cover the meat. Add salt and pepper to taste and cook for an hour on a low heat. Once ready, let cool and remove the string. Serve cut into slices, with its gravy.