Slow cooked Italian beef, slightly bitter broccoli rabe and sharp provolone all wrapped up in a flaky pie crust! So good!! There is plenty of beef left over after making this, I stirred the extra shredded meat in with a basic tomato sauce for a nice hearty bolognese.
Ingredients
For the beef:
~ 1 1/2 lb london broil
1 onion, quartered
2 carrots, peeled, cut in half
2 stalks of celery, cut in half
4-5 cloves garlic, crushed
1 bay leaf
1 cup water
For the crostata:
1 refrigerated pie crust round
1/2 bunch broccoli rabe, remove some of the stem
1- 1 1/2 cups prepared shredded beef
3/4 cup shredded provolone
Preparation
1. Into the slow cooker… pour in the water, onion, carrots, celery, garlic and bay leaf. Season the London broil with Italian seasoning and place on top of the veggies.
2. Set the slow cooker on low for 5 hours. At the end, remove the bay leaf, I leave the veggies in tact in there. Shred the meat right in the pot and let it soak up all that yummy broth. Now I dare you to not dip your fingers in there and have a taste! 😉
3. Now for the savory crostata! Preheat your oven to 385 degrees.
4. Cook the broccoli rabe in boiling salted water until tender. Drain very well, you do not want mud moisture when you put it on the pie dough. I season lightly with salt, pepper and a little garlic powder.
5. Get some of that fabulous shredded beef, again draining the liquid.
6. Time to assemble! Roll out the dough onto a lined baking sheet. Layer on the shredded cheese, broccoli rabe and the beef leaving a little bit of the edge bare because we are going to fold that up.
7. Fold the edges up slightly, the center will still be open. Press the dough together a bit so it stays in place. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until the dough is golden.
Credit: Foodista