Beef Involtini
A classic Italian dish that’s incredibly easy to make, yet so rich and flavourful. Tender beef stuffed with mozzarella, parmesan and basil, all smothered in a delicious tomato sauce. Yum!
Serves: 6
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cooking Time: 45 minutes
Ingredients
1 kg minute steak (see Note 1)
250 g grated mozzarella
125 g grated Parmesan
1 large bunch fresh basil
2 cloves garlic, crushed
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Approx 1 - 1/2 cups dried breadcrumbs
Olive oil, for browning
1 × 500 ml bottle tomato passata
2 heaped teaspoons chicken stock powder
Method
Prepare the filling
In a bowl, mix together the mozzarella, parmesan, a large handful of roughly chopped basil leaves, the crushed garlic and a generous grinding of black pepper. Combine well.
Prepare the steak
Lay the steaks out on a board. If they are large, cut them into pieces roughly 15 × 7 cm (this size isn’t crucial, but it helps with rolling).
Fill and roll
Place a heaped spoonful (tablespoon) of the cheese‑basil mixture at one end of each steak slice and roll to enclose the filling. Don’t worry about sealing the ends – any cheese that escapes will add flavour to the sauce. Set the rolls seam‑side down on the board.
Coat in breadcrumbs
Pour the breadcrumbs into a shallow dish. Roll each steak roll in the crumbs – they’ll stick lightly from the meat’s moisture. This isn’t a full crumbing; just a light coating that helps thicken the sauce and keep the meat tender.
Sear the rolls
Preheat your oven to 180°C (fan‑forced).
Heat a little olive oil in a large pan over high heat. Place the rolls seam‑side down in the pan and cook until browned on one side. Gently turn them (if they start to unroll, hold with tongs until the other side browns). A light sear on most sides is fine – you don’t need to be perfect.
Work in batches, adding more oil as needed. Some cheese will leak out and brown on the pan bottom – that’s a good thing!
Transfer to casserole
As each roll browns, transfer it to a casserole dish large enough to hold them in a single layer (roughly 30 × 20 cm). Set aside.
Make the sauce
Once all the rolls have browned remove the pan from the heat, reduce the hob to medium‑low, then return the pan. Pour in the passata (be careful it can spit if the pan is still too hot). Fill the empty bottle halfway with water, add the chicken stock powder, shake well, and pour into the pan.
Bring the sauce to a simmer, scraping the browned bits from the bottom of the pan as you go.
Bake
Pour the sauce over the beef rolls in the casserole dish. Cover with foil and bake for 25 minutes. Remove the foil and bake uncovered for a further 20 minutes.
Serve
Garnish with extra basil leaves.
Serve hot, with crusty bread or pasta to mop up the delicious sauce.
Notes
Choosing the steak – Ask your butcher for minute steak; they’ll usually cut and pound it for you, making it super easy. Supermarket “sizzle steak” works too, but it’s not always as tender. For a truly luxurious result, use thinly sliced scotch fillet – though that will be quite expensive.
Make‑ahead tip – You can assemble the rolls a day ahead, refrigerate them but bring back to room temperature before crumbing and searing.
Comments