Secrets of the Best Chefs

sliced thin and pounded (you can ask your butcher to do this; tell

him you’re making braciola, pronounced “bra-zhule”) and cooked

with soffrito and tomato puree until fork tender. The meat is

certainly a high point, but the sauce (which gets infused with the

meaty brown bits) is the real star—you can spoon it, as Canora

does, over gnocchi. Or it works equally well on pasta or polenta or

sopped up with crusty bread.

FOR THE BEEF

½ cup flat-leaf parsley

3 small cloves garlic, peeled

2 pounds beef sirloin (well marbled)

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

¼ pound thinly sliced pancetta

FOR THE REST OF THE DISH

½ medium red onion, peeled and diced

1 celery stalk, roughly chopped

1 carrot, roughly chopped

1 clove garlic, peeled and roughly chopped

1 tablespoon chopped thyme leaves

1 tablespoon chopped parsley

1 tablespoon chopped basil

Olive oil

Kosher salt