4 minute read

Braciola — Stuffed Skirt Steak, by Joe Ortiz

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Don’t Miss Out – Contact Us Today! 831.332.9002 MusicalMe.com Joe ortiz MeMoir: episodes & recipes

Joe Ortiz’s memoir, Pastina — My

Father’s Misfortune, My Mother’s

Good Soup, became the framework for the musical Escaping Queens, which ran at Cabrillo Stage in 2012 and 2013.

The Capitola Soquel Times is sharing the exclusive publication of various episodes from the book — including a recipe that helps shape each installment. Below is a reprint of the latest recipe.

The idea of weaving anecdotes about food with an ongoing narrative came to Joe after reading Heartburn by Nora Ephron.

“Using recipe descriptions to help tell a story seemed the perfect way to weave the angst of a father’s chaotic life with the salvation of a mother’s cooking,” Ortiz explains. “For me, the soothing aromas and descriptions of my mom’s food became the salve to assuage my father’s abusive actions, and the ironic humor of it all helped to dull the pain.” n

Braciola — Stuffed Skirt Steak

Serves: 4

This recipe is linked to the time Dad fixed the knife cut on Eddie Ryan’s of hot water over low to medium heat for a few minutes. When cool, squeeze it try shoes by gluing ground shoe leather into the crack, then — according to my Uncle Johnny — grinding it down so “the naked eye couldn’t tell da difference.” It was the same night we caught Johnny bragging about his secret technique for adding the egg.

But now I’m realizing no one uses egg at all, it was just Johnny’s penchant for fictional elaboration (read “lying”) in telling a story. 1 skirt steak weighing 1 1/2 pounds

Salt and pepper to taste 5 to 6 slices of Prosciutto ½ cup chopped spinach ½ cup chopped parsley 6 cloves garlic, minced fine 3/4 cup breadcrumbs 1 ½ cup grated Parmesan 2 tablespoons olive oil and 2 tablespoons butter 2 (28 ounce) cans Italian plum tomatoes. (To prep the tomatoes, sauté 6 cloves of garlic, minced, in a few tablespoons of olive oil, add the tomatoes and simmer with a little water for a few hours over low heat, stirring frequently.) •••

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Place the steak between 2 pieces of wax paper and, pound until it’s about ¼ inch thick (thin as possible). The steak should measure about 6 to 7 inches wide by 20 inches long. Set aside.

Poach the spinach in a little pan with your hands. Heat the butter in a skillet and sauté the garlic until translucent. Let cool. In a medium bowl, combine the breadcrumbs, grated Parmesan, parsley, spinach, and until well blended. Lay the steak out on a flat surface, fat side down, and cover the meat with the prosciutto slices, then about a ¾-inchthick layer of the filling. The mixture should be an inch or so from the back edge, and then roll it into a log of about 2 inches in diameter. Secure with toothpicks (tying with kitchen twine is best). Heat the olive oil and butter in a casserole pan large enough to hold the log (or cut in 8-inch lengths to accommodate) and fry the meat until brown on all sides (4 to 5 minutes). Pour 4 to 6 cups of the tomato sauce over the meat and bake in the 350-degree oven for 1 hour 30 minutes. Let the logs cool ten minutes, then slice and serve with some of the sauce on top. n

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