Matambre

Recipe adapted from Mark Bittman

What the hell is matambre?

As it happens, I asked myself the same question when I first ran across a recipe for it. Saveur’s version calls it “Vegetable-Stuffed Rolled Flank Steak” which conveniently enough is exactly what matambre is: a giant slab of beef loaded with veggies and rolled up. According to the internet this is an Argentinian dish that has been around for a long time. I was all set to make Saveur’s recipe when I was menu planning two weeks ago, but I had picked up Mark Bittman’s “How To Cook Everything” and he had a recipe too, and one a bit less complicated than Saveur’s.

1 flank steak, 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 lbs
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon fresh marjoram or oregano leaves or 1/2 teaspoon dried
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 bunch fresh parsley or 1/2 bunch parsley and 1/2 bunch cilantro
3 medium carrots, cut lengthwise into quarters
6 strips roasted red peppers
3 slices provolone cheese, cut into strips
1 large red or white onion, cut into chunks,
1 bunch spinach, watercress, or arugula, well washed and chipped
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1. Heat the oven to 375F. Butterfly the flank steak: Using a long, sharp knife, cut the steak almost in half with the grain, then flip it open, like a book. Sprinkle with salt and pepper on both sides, then turn it cut side up, wide side facing you. Sprinkle with the marjoram, cumin and garlic and cover it with a layer of the parsley. Then arrange the carrots, peppers, provolone, and onion in vertical rows, making 2 rows of each — you won’t have enough to make rows across the entire steak because you need a couple inches free to make it into a neat roll. Scatter a relatively even layer of spinach over all.
2. Roll the whole thing up like a jelly roll: Start with the narrow side; the grain of the steak should run the length of the roll. Tie in 3 or 4 places with butcher’s twine. Put the olive oil in a Dutch oven or roasting pan large enough to accommodate the rolled steak over medium-high heat. When hot, deeply brown the steak on all sides, about 15 minutes, and then transfer the pan to the oven and roast for 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 hours, until the meat is tender to the touch.
3. Transfer to a cutting board or a clean baking dish and let it rest for 30 minutes  — it will be too hot out of the oven. Slice into 1/2 to 1″ pieces and serve.

It’s amazing how those menus are working out, 15 days later and I still have one dish to make, and there were only 8 on the menu. Anyway.

So, knowing that it would take effort I chucked the flank steak in the freezer until I ran out of easier things to make and that turned out to be today. So, after defrosting in the fridge overnight, I got to work on the first step: butterflying the meat.

I’m not sure what part of my brain thought, oh hey, this will be cake, but whatever it was, it was wrong. I am pretty sure I chose a bad knife for it, and I also had no idea what I was doing. Warren had to stop me from overanalyzing what “with the grain” meant, which is sad on many levels. At any rate, I should have had one long, rectagular piece of meat with a fairly even thickness, and instead I had a thick side and a mangled side. You work with what you’ve got though, so I moved on.*

(*after watching a few videos, I now see that I did it completely wrong. next time I will research BEFORE attempting a new technique instead of after.)

Carrots, onions, garlic, Italian parsley, baby spinach and a cleaver. Not pictured: provolone, roasted red peppers, cumin, salt, oregano and black pepper.

Both recipes, in fact I suspect all of them if they’re claiming to be traditional, call for carrots, spinach and hard-boiled eggs. I’m with Mark Bittman on this, the idea of eggs in my meat just doesn’t work at all for me, so I substituted roasted red peppers and some provolone instead (I read…somewhere, can’t remember, that someone had used provolone and thought that sounded like a good idea.). If you ask me, the garlic is absolutely crucial, it soaks through the meat and just, man, so good.

Your meat, after seasoning, should look like this. No comments on my incredible garlic mincing skills, please, or I will just assume you’re jealous.

Your meat, layered as follows: parsley, alternating rows of carrots and onions, topped with provolone and roasted red peppers. You don’t want to stuff it too full or it won’t roll, but you want it to have enough that it gives that lovely pinwheel effect when you slice it.

Mine, for instance, could have used more spinach and parsley. The spinach is supposed to help hold all of the rest of it inside.

Roll it up, starting from the short side top, and tie it with cooking twine. This was easily the hardest part for me and one for which I can tell I have no natural aptitude. In theory, this would have been a nice tight roll with the veggies and greens evenly distributed and neatly covered all the way around by the meat. But, again, I was thwarted by the not-good job I did with the butterflying and I think I had my carrots and onions packed too close together. Whatever, anyway.

Chuck it in the dutch oven or other large cooking vessel to brown on all sides. Though Bittman says 15 minutes, it certainly did not take me that long, which probably means my heat was too high.

The outside of mine was a little overdone, and by a little I mean it was nearly jerky level, the insides however were just dandy. An hour and a half in the oven at 375 will net you a similar result. Next time I will take it out at the hour mark and see if it keeps the outsides a little more moist. You have to let it rest for 30 minutes and let me tell you, my dog wanted so badly for me to leave the room just long enough for her to snatch it off the cutting board. And she would have, too, and would have considered any burns worth her time.

All in all, it really wasn’t overly complicated or fussy to make, and definitely a learning experience. I am really impressed with how well this cut takes to both roasting and garlic, and I think there’s a lot you could do with the rolling technique – chard, broccoli rabe, any greens, with some shallots and smoked gouda. Oh my. Anyway, it’ll be a nice change from traditional roasts every now and then.