Spiedini Recipe: A Scerra Family Tradition
As featured in Holiday 2023 issue of The Applegatarian.
"This 'recipe' came from my mother-in law Carol Scerra, who made it often with her mother, Bess. As is often the case in the Scerra household, there is no actual recipe-only estimates based on taste and preference.
For the holidays, the spiedini is served immediately after a cold antipasto spread sourced from Arthur Avenue in the Bronx. By the time the pasta course arrives (usually manicotti), everyone is happy, but no one is hungry!"
- Molly Scerra, Applegate Senior Brand Manager
The Applegatarian, an outlet where employees and advocates of the nation’s leading natural and organic meat brand dish about their favorite recipes, tips, products, partners and more.
Ingredients
- 1 (2-pound) piece eye round of beef
- 2 cups seasoned bread crumbs, plus more for dipping
- Olive oil
- 5 to 6 ripe Roma tomatoes
- Chunk of pecorino romano or provolone cheese
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly oil a baking sheet.
- Thinly slice the eye round (it helps to partially freeze the meat to make it easier to slice), then pound it so it has an even thickness of about ½s inch. If the slices are very wide, cut them into long strips, 2 or 2½ inches wide. Arrange the pounded slices on a sheet of parchment or wax paper.
- In a bowl, stir together 2 cups breadcrumbs with a healthy drizzle of olive oil, just enough to hold them together. Halve the tomatoes lengthwise, remove the seeds, then dice the flesh. Cut the cheese into small cubes so they fit within the slice of beef.
- On each piece of meat, sprinkle some of the moistened bread crumbs, then a few pieces of tomato and cheese. Roll up each piece tightly.
- Thread 4 rolls onto a skewer, dip them lightly into some olive oil and then sprinkle with some of the unmixed breadcrumbs until the meat rolls are lightly coated. Repeat with the remaining rolls.
- Arrange skewers on the oiled baking sheet and roast until golden brown, 18 to 20 minutes. Remove from the oven and serve warm.
Note: The Scerras sometimes add a layer of salami or prosciutto to the spiedini. APPLEGATE NATURALS® Uncured Genoa Salami or APPLEGATE NATURALS® Prosciutto would work perfectly!
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly oil a baking sheet.
- Thinly slice the eye round (it helps to partially freeze the meat to make it easier to slice), then pound it so it has an even thickness of about ½s inch. If the slices are very wide, cut them into long strips, 2 or 2½ inches wide. Arrange the pounded slices on a sheet of parchment or wax paper.
- In a bowl, stir together 2 cups breadcrumbs with a healthy drizzle of olive oil, just enough to hold them together. Halve the tomatoes lengthwise, remove the seeds, then dice the flesh. Cut the cheese into small cubes so they fit within the slice of beef.
- On each piece of meat, sprinkle some of the moistened bread crumbs, then a few pieces of tomato and cheese. Roll up each piece tightly.
- Thread 4 rolls onto a skewer, dip them lightly into some olive oil and then sprinkle with some of the unmixed breadcrumbs until the meat rolls are lightly coated. Repeat with the remaining rolls.
- Arrange skewers on the oiled baking sheet and roast until golden brown, 18 to 20 minutes. Remove from the oven and serve warm.
Note: The Scerras sometimes add a layer of salami or prosciutto to the spiedini. APPLEGATE NATURALS® Uncured Genoa Salami or APPLEGATE NATURALS® Prosciutto would work perfectly!