12 Apr 2011 32 Comments

Beef “Olives”

I’m going to let you in on a little family secret.  It’s juicy, it’s gratifying, and it’s the stuff-made of legends.  And it goes really well with mashed potatoes.

I fell in love with this dish ten years ago, when my husband and I were still courting each other and peeing with the door closed. It’s an Anderson Family specialty, and my Scottish father-in-law Chris has been cooking it for years.  I always request it whenever we come into town, and he always makes it for me… even though his initial response is always, “Why don’t you learn to make it yourself?”  Oh, you Scots!

So I finally did.  It’s the most comforting family supper in the world, and I never get tired of it, ever.  It screams love to me. In a Scottish accent.

Some tweaks have been made to the original recipe (don’t have a coronary, Chris) just to make it my own.

INGREDIENTS:

12 slices inside round beef (get the butcher to do this for you, or buy really thin pieces pre-packaged, like scallopini thin.  If they aren’t thin enough, pound them out with a meat mallet or a heavy skillet or my agent’s wallet to 1/4 inch thickness)

12 pieces Canadian bacon, also known as back bacon (what’s Canadian about it, we’ll never know)

6 small pork breakfast sausages, uncooked

1 cup fine breadcrumbs

2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

1 large onion, finely chopped

1 tsp dried sage

1 tsp herbs de provence (you can buy those in the spice aisle at any grocery store)

4 cups beef stock or beef broth

salt and pepper

toothpicks for sealing

What to do:

Start making your gravy mixture.  Heat the olive oil in a sauce pot over medium heat.  Sautee the chopped onion for five minutes, seasoning with the sage and salt and pepper.  Don’t go crazy on the salt– this sauce is eventually going to reduce, and once something reduces, it ups the salt quotient.  Add the stock and bring to a boil, then simmer over low heat while you prepare the stuffing.

Take the sausage out of its casing and mix with the breadcrumbs, herbs de provence, and salt and pepper.  Using a slotted spoon, fish out the onions from the gravy mixture and add to the stuffing.  Mix well.

Preheat the oven to 350F.  Start to make your “olives”: make an assembly line with the slices of beef, the back bacon, the stuffing, and toothpicks for sealing.  Salt and pepper the beef, lay a piece of back bacon on top, then a spoonful of the stuffing.  Carefully role up into an “olive” shape, tucking in the stuffing as it spills out the sides.  Secure with a toothpick or two.  Arrange the beef olives in a 9 by 13 casserole dish so they’re nice and snug and season the outside with a touch more salt and pepper.  Pour the gravy over the top, which should almost cover your cute little olives.  If you find the gravy’s reduced too much, add a little water.

Cover with foil and bake in the center rack of the oven for an hour and a half, turning the beef olives once halfway through.  Remove the foil and continue to cook for another hour, turning again halfway through.

Take the olives out and let them rest.  Check the gravy for seasoning and adjust to your tastes.  If you really care, you can pry out the toothpicks before serving, but Chris doesn’t worry about it, so just warn your guests ahead of time, especially if they literally inhale their food like my husband does.  Serve with creamy mashed potatoes and the gravy on the side.

Makes 6 servings, two beef olives a person, or 3 servings if you’re us!

wine + meat + gravy + mashed = happy, happy me

cute lil olives

The beef olive master himself (and us, and my lovely mother-in-law Bonnie)

 

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