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Bife à rolê
Stuffed beef rolls
Bife à rolê: Brazilian beef rolls stuffed with bacon, carrot and gherkin, braised in tomato
A favourite for Sunday lunch in Brazilian homes, bife à rolê are thin slices of beef rolled around sticks of carrot, gherkin and smoked bacon, which is pork, then browned and braised slowly in tomato sauce. When you slice through a roll you see a neat spiral, and the sauce is rich enough to spoon over rice or mashed potato. The dish came to Brazil with German and Portuguese settlers and became part of everyday cooking. Chef's tip: secure each roll with two toothpicks crossed in an X so it doesn't unroll as it braises.
- Total time
- 100 min
- Difficulty
- medium
- Serves
- 4
Ingredients
For the rolls
- 1 ⅜ lb thin beef slices (topside)8 slices, pounded to 5 mm
- 1 tsp salt
- ½ tsp black pepper
- 4 cloves garliccrushed
- 4 smoked bacon rashershalved
- 1 carrotcut into 8 sticks
- 2 pickled gherkinscut into 8 strips
For the sauce
- 2 tbsp sunflower oil
- 1 onionchopped
- 3 tomatoeschopped
- 1 tbsp tomato purée
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 ¾ cups hot water
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Method
0/6 doneStep 1: Season the 1 ⅜ lb thin beef slices (topside) with the 1 tsp salt, ½ tsp black pepper and half the 2 cloves garlic.
3 minStep 2: Lay a piece of 4 smoked bacon rashers, a 1 carrot stick and a strip of 2 pickled gherkins across the short end of each slice. Roll up tightly and secure with toothpicks. Rolling them loosely is a common mistake: the filling falls out in the pan.
12 minStep 3: Heat the 2 tbsp sunflower oil in a wide casserole over a medium-high heat and brown the rolls for 6–8 minutes, turning, until browned all over. Lift out.
8 minStep 4: Cook the 1 onion and the rest of the 2 cloves garlic for 4 minutes, then add the 3 tomatoes and 1 tbsp tomato purée and cook for 4 minutes until pulpy.
8 minStep 5: Return the rolls with the 1 bay leaf and 1 ¾ cups hot water. Cover and braise on a low heat for 50–60 minutes, turning once, until the beef is tender when pierced and the sauce has thickened. Add a splash of water if it gets dry.
55 minStep 6: Remove the toothpicks and serve the rolls whole or sliced, with the sauce, rice and mashed potato.
2 min
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 380 kcal
- Protein
- 44 g
- Carbs
- 9 g
- Fat
- 18 g
- Fibre
- 2 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does bife à rolê take?
- About 100 minutes in total: 30 minutes to prepare and 70 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 4 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it gluten free?
- Yes, as written. Check the labels on stock, sauces and spice mixes, which sometimes contain gluten.
- What can I use instead of garlic?
- ½ tsp garlic paste or ⅛ tsp garlic powder per clove.
- What can I use instead of carrot?
- Parsnip or sweet potato, same weight.
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