More French comfort food, these braised Beef Rolls are know as Alouettes sans Têtes (larks without heads). The Rolls supposedly resemble small, headless birds.
I thought that was a nice story / bit of folklore until I went to the butcher to get the thinly sliced beef. It needs to be very thin so it’s best to have a butcher do it for you.
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These tender rolls are braised on the cook top. Serve with mashed potatoes, polenta or pasta. The nutrition info is for 2 servings, but we had enough left over for the hubs to have lunch.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 3 hours
- Total Time: 3 hours 15 minutes
- Yield: 2 servings 1x
- Category: Beef
- Method: Skillet
Ingredients
- 8 thin slices beef, 16oz (480gr) total weight, about 3 X 6 X 1/16th inches (8 X 15 X .4cm)
- 4 slices Prosciutto, cut in half to fit the beef
- 1/4 cup dry bread crumbs
- 2 tbs parsley
- 1 tsp paprika
- 1 tsp finely minced garlic
- 2 tbs finely minced shallots
- 1 medium carrot, finely chopped
- 1 rib celery, finely chopped
- 1 medium leek, cut in half, thinly sliced
- 1 tbs olive oil
- 1 tbs butter
- 1 cup (8oz, 240ml) white wine
- 3 cups (24oz, 720gr) chopped tomatoes
- kitchen string
Instructions
- Mix the crumbs, parsley, garlic, shallots and paprika.
- Lay the beef slices flat.
- Lay 1 slice of Prosciutto on top of each slice of beef.
- Divide the crumb mixture and place on 2/3rds of each parcel. It‘ll spread out as you roll.
- Starting from the narrow end (where the stuffing is) roll the parcels up, keeping them as tight as reasonable.
- Tie securely with kitchen string.
- Heat oil in small, heavy pot or skillet.
- Add the beef rolls and brown lightly on all sides.
- Remove and set aside
- Add butter, carrots, celery, leek, and sauté until tender but not brown, about 10 minutes.
- Return the beef rolls to the pan
- Add the wine, tomatoes, reduce heat, cover and simmer for 2 hours.
- Check periodically to make sure that rolls stay completely, or almost completely covered, adding wine or beef broth if needed.
- To finish:
- Remove beef rolls and cover to keep warm.
- Increase heat under sauce and boil until reduced and thickened, about 10 minutes
- While sauce reduces, remove string from rolls.
- When sauce is ready return beef rolls to pan to reheat, about 5 minutes.
- Spoon sauce onto a platter, top with roll and serve.
Notes
I use a cast iron Dutch Oven for these, but a deep, heavy skillet would work. Keep it so a slow simmer.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1/2 recipe
- Calories: 719
- Sugar: 14.4 g
- Sodium: 1249.9 mg
- Fat: 24.3 g
- Saturated Fat: 8.2 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 37.4 g
- Fiber: 10.3 g
- Protein: 67.4 g
- Cholesterol: 173 mg
Another tender beef dish: Beef Braised with Onions & Calvados.
I didn’t know what cut of beef to ask for to make this. A French friend said just to ask for beef for ‘alouettes’.
I did.
The butcher nodded, grabbed a big slab of meat, sliced it, wrapped it, and handed me the package.
Unlike the English butcher where I bought the beef for Braised Beef Provençal, the French butcher and I were ‘on the same page’.
Once I had the filling made, I just lined the beef strips up like an assembly line. Cut the kitchen string first and they go together quickly.
Don’t worry about the stuff that falls out – just toss it in the pot.
I haven’t made them in yonks. I should put them back on the list.
It’s the type of dish I like to make on these cold, gray days. I’m getting very tired of fog.
I make something similar but without the prosciutto. I need to add that but it’s so very expensive her. $9 for four paper thin slices! Just ridiculous. I’m glad you and the butcher were on the same page here! Slicing anything that thin is so hard. It’s doable if it’s partially frozen and you have a really sharp knife, but I, like you, prefer the butcher take care of it. He’s got more experience too.
I actually use the local French ham but no one outside of France would recognize it. There are about 30 different dry-cured hams in the supermarket counters (including Prosciutto). They range in price from 15 euros a kilo to about 35. There are a lot of slices in a kilo! It’s all sliced to order, of course…
My mother did these for us when I was a child but they were called Veal Birds… made with thinly sliced veal… and delicious too !
I have made Veal Birds… Equally good. My mother never made anything like this. She loved to bake but not ‘cook’.