Best Italian Beef Florentine Recipes

FLORENTINES (ITALY)

Steps:

• Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with a silicone baking mat or parchment paper.
• Pulse the almonds in a food processor until finely chopped, but not pasty. Stir together the nuts, flour, zest and salt in a large bowl.
• Put the sugar, cream, corn syrup and butter in a small saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until mixture comes to a rolling boil and sugar is completely dissolved. Continue to boil for 1 minute. Remove from heat and stir in the vanilla, then pour mixture into almond mixture and stir just to combine. Set aside until cool enough to handle, 30 minutes.
• Scoop rounded teaspoons (for 3-inch cookies) or rounded tablespoons (for 6-inch cookies) of batter and roll into balls. Place on prepared baking sheet, leaving about 3 to 4 inches between each cookie since they spread.
• Bake 1 pan at a time, until the cookies are thin and an even golden brown color throughout, rotating pans halfway through baking time, about 10 to 11 minutes. Cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes, then transfer to racks to cool. Repeat with remaining batter. Serve.
• Optional chocolate topping: Put the chocolate in a medium heatproof bowl. Bring a saucepan filled with 1 inch or so of water to a very low simmer; set the bowl over, but not touching, the water. Stir the chocolate occasionally until melted and smooth. (Alternatively, put the chocolate in a medium microwave-safe bowl. Melt at 50 percent power in the microwave until soft, about 1 minute. Stir, and continue heat until completely melted, about 1 to 2 minutes more.)
• For sandwiches: Drop about 1/2 teaspoon chocolate onto on the flat side of half of the cookies and press together with remaining halves. Return to rack and let chocolate set.
• For chocolate decor: Drizzle melted chocolate over Florentines as desired. Set aside at room temperature until chocolate is set.

BEEF FLORENTINE

Steps:

• Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add pasta, and cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until al dente; drain.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• In a skillet over medium heat, brown the ground beef until evenly brown; drain excess fat. Season with oregano, salt and pepper. Stir in tomato sauce and water. Remove from heat, and stir in cooked noodles.
• In a medium bowl, combine spinach, cottage cheese, onion, and Parmesan cheese. Spread half of noodle mixture in a large casserole dish. Layer with all of spinach mixture, then cover with remaining noodle mixture.
• Bake in preheated oven for 15 minutes. Cover with mozzarella, and continue cooking 10 minutes, or until cheese is melted.

FLORENTINE STEAK

Steps:

• Sprinkle both sides of the meat with a drizzle of high-quality extra-virgin olive oil. Place the steaks on a red-hot grill and roast over a very high heat for 3-5 minutes - depending on how you like your steak cooked. (A true Florentine steak must be rare, however.)
• Then turn them over and salt; continue cooking for another 3-5 minutes. Rotate them once more to salt the other side.
• Once the steaks have finished cooking, let the meat rest for a few minutes before cutting it, so that its juices are redistributed inside. Transfer to the serving dishes and season with a drizzle of oil, ground pepper and some roasted porcini mushrooms, potatoes or cannellini beans (depending on personal preference).

EASY ITALIAN SAUSAGE AND PEPPERS

Steps:

• In a Dutch oven, cook the sausage over medium heat until no longer pink; drain. Add the remaining ingredients. , Cover and cook for 30 minutes or until vegetables are tender, stirring, occasionally. Serve with a slotted spoon.

BEEF FLORENTINE

Steps:

• SAUCE Place olive oil in large skillet.
• Add garlic and brown for about 2 minutes.
• Add ground beef and brown.
• Drain off excess grease.
• Add crushed tomatoes.
• Add tomato paste.
• Add nutmeg, oregano and salt and pepper to taste.
• Simmer for at least 1 hour.
• While this is cooking prepare the filling.
• FILLING Trim ends from spinach.
• Cook until wilted.
• Drain off all excess liquid and squeeze dry.
• Beat 2 eggs.
• Add cottage cheese and spinach.
• Add 1 cup of Italian blend cheese.
• Salt and pepper.
• CRUST Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.
• Spray a 13x9 pan (preferrably glass) with non stick spray.
• Pour sauce into pan.
• Top with filling.
• Cover with rest of cheese.
• Take one sheet of Phyllo at a time and brush with melted butter until you have 8 layers.
• Bake at 350 deg.
• for 1 hour or until top is golden brown.
• Let stand for at least 15 minutes.
• Cut into squares and serve.

ITALIAN BEEF FLORENTINE

Steps:

• Place flour on a plate. Beat eggs gently, in a shallow bowl, until blended. In another shallow bowl, mix Panko bread crumbs, Italian seasoning, onion powder, salt and pepper.
• Preheat large saute pan on medium-high 2-3 minutes. Dip patties in flour (coating both sides), then dip in egg mixture, allowing excess to drip off. Finally, dip into Panko bread crumb mixture.
• Place oil in pan; swirl to coat. Add patties to pan and cook 2-3 minutes on each side to brown.
• Reduce heat to medium; cook 2-3 more minutes on each side, until cooked through.
• Meanwhile, combine sauce mix and milk in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil on medium-high heat. Reduce heat to low; stir in butter and spinach. Cook 2-3 minutes, stirring often, or until spinach is wilted. Serve sauce over patties.

FLORENTINES

Steps:

• Heat oven to 180C/160C/gas 4. Line two baking sheets with baking parchment.Melt the butter, sugar and golden syrup in a small saucepan over a low heat, stirring frequently. Remove from the heat and whisk in the flour then add the cherries, flaked almonds, pistachios and orange zest.
• Scoop 10 flat tbsp of the mixture onto the baking sheets, leaving room for them to spread. You will need to do these in batches. Bake for 10 mins until golden. Leave to cool for 2 mins until firm enough to lift onto a wire rack. Cool completely. Repeat with the remaining mixture.
• Melt the chocolate in a bowl over a simmering saucepan of water or in the microwave in 30 second bursts. Turn the florentines over on the wire rack. Spoon chocolate onto the base of each florentine and gently spread to the edges. When the chocolate is firm enough to hold its shape, use a fork to draw wavy lines across the chocolate. Leave to set and then store in an airtight container.

BISTECCA ALLA FIORENTINA (TUSCAN PORTERHOUSE)

Steps:

• Press chopped rosemary onto both sides of porterhouse steak; set onto a plate and allow to marinate at room temperature for 1 hour.
• Start an outdoor grill using hardwood charcoal, such as hickory. When coals are white and glowing, arrange for high heat.
• Gently brush or rub olive oil onto steak, then season to taste with sea salt and pepper.
• Place steak onto grill, and cook until a dark, golden brown (not burnt) crust forms, 5 to 10 minutes depending on thickness of meat. Turn over, and continue cooking until golden on the other side, 5 to 10 minutes more. When finished, place steak onto a platter, and allow to rest for 10 minutes.
• To serve, remove the two pieces of meat from the bone, and replace the bone onto the serving platter. Trim any unwanted fat from the round (tenderloin) steak, slice into 6 equal pieces at an angle to the grain, and fan out on one side of the bone. Slice the rectangular (loin) steak into 1/4-inch slices at an angle to the grain. Fan out on the other side of the bone. Finish by garnishing the platter with lemon wedges and a sprinkle of additional sea salt.