Matambre

A delicious stuffed beef roll from Argentina. Butterflied and flattened beef flank steak is filled with a black bean mixture, spinach leaves, cooked slices of carrot and quartered hard-cooked eggs, baked, chilled, sliced and served cold, often with a chimchurri sauce. This is an ideal dish to serve at buffet party dinners.

Recipe Ingredients:

1 (2 pound) beef flank steak, butterflied
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
2 teaspoons minced garlic
2 teaspoons dried thyme leaves
1 teaspoon salt (optional)
2 cups loosely packed spinach leaves
4 whole thin carrots, cooked
3 hard-cooked eggs, quartered
4 cups reduced-sodium fat-free beef broth

Black Bean Filling:
1 cup boiling water
1 ancho chili
2 (15-ounce each) cans black beans (3 cups), rinsed, drained
1/4 cup chopped onion
1/4 cup chopped parsley
1 teaspoon ground cumin

Cooking Directions:

1. Lay meat flat on counter. Cover with waxed paper and pound to an even thickness, using flat side of meat mallet. Sprinkle all surfaces of meat with vinegar, garlic, thyme and salt. Let stand while preparing filling. (Or, meat can also be transferred to a jelly roll pan and refrigerated, covered, up to 12 hours.)
2. For Black Bean Filling: Pour water over ancho chili in small bowl, and let stand until softened, about 10 minutes. Drain and remove stem from chili. Purée chili in blender with a small amount of soaking water until smooth. Coarsely mash beans in medium bowl. Stir in chili purée, onion, parsley and cumin. Makes about 3 cups filling.
3. Spread Black Bean Filling over meat with spinach leaves. Place carrots about 3-inches apart on spinach, parallel to grain of meat. Place egg quarters between carrots. Roll meat, starting from short end, to form a thick roll; tie with kitchen string at 2-inch intervals.
4. Place meat in roasting pan. Pour broth around meat, adding water if necessary to come 1/3 of the way up the side of meat. Cover tightly with lid or foil.
5. Bake in a preheated oven at 375°F (190°C) for 1 hour, or until meat reaches internal temperature of 130°F (55°C). Place meat on platter and let stand for 5 minutes before slicing. Chill, slice, and serve cold.

Makes 8 servings.

Tip: Ask your butcher to butterfly the flank steak. Or, to butterfly a flank steak: place on cutting board; with sharp knife, cut in half horizontally to within 1/2-inch of one long side.

Nutritional Information Per Serving (1/8 of recipe): Calories 356; Fat 11g; % Calories from Fat 28; Potassium 955mg; Carbohydrate 22g; Folate 161mcg; Sodium 839mg; Calcium 86mg; Protein 40g; Dietary Fiber 8g; Cholesterol 129mg.

Recipe provided courtesy of The Bean Education & Awareness Network.