in the (new) kitchen: beef bragiole and gnocchi

I hadn't been cooking in my new place, both because of the mice (who are either gone or hiding) and my laziness. My furniture having arrived, it was time to put my dining room table and stove to use for the first time. On the menu (after a bit of wandering around Trader Joes): Beef Bragiole, gnocchi and salad.

The bragiole starts with a piece of flank steak, pounded thin.

Meanwhile, I sautéed 1/2 an onion (though I would have used a whole onion, one of the two I bought was inedible), some garlic and shallots in some olive oil and lightly toasted some walnuts in another pan.

With the beef flattened I layered (from left to right, top to bottom) prosciutto, the onion mixture, shredded parmesan cheese and the walnuts, ground onto the meat.

I rolled the meat up, and seared it over high heat with a bit more oil. Had I some twine or toothpicks, I would have secured the meat, but my kitchen is not yet well outfitted, so I made due.

Removing the seared beef, I added the other half of the onion, more shallots and garlic to the pan, cooked them briefly and then deglazed with about a cup of red wine (Two Buck Chuck Merlot in this case).

It was at this point that I realized I lacked a can opener. It is very difficult to removed tomatoes from a can, but with guests arriving in a bit, I sacrificed my knife for the cause and very crudely opened two 28 ounce cans of tomatoes.

Adding the tomatoes, a bit of coarsely chopped prosciutto, about a cup of water, a couple bay leaves and some oregano, I returned the beef to the pan. Bringing the mixture to a simmer, I covered (with a cookie pan) and cooked over medium-low heat for about 90 minutes, turning a few times.

Quickly boiling the pre-made gnocchi, I removed the beef, sliced it, sauced both beef and pasta with the sauce and served with some bread and a salad (not pictured).

The result was terrific, and the remaining sauce went into the blender for future use.