Red Pepper, Leek, and Bleu Cheese Steak Roulade

I saw this recipe in the Food Network Magazine (December 2009) and I knew instantly I had to try this. I've never tried to make something like this, so I knew this would be interesting. If you are not familiar, a roulade is French for a sort of rolled dish, as in meat or a light cake. You can vary the ingredients to what you and your family prefer. The few ingredients I chose I knew were going to be a success. But I whole heartedly confess to using shortcuts (and some not so shortcuts as you will see later) to make this dish quick and easy-which is especially appreciated coming up on this time of year, the holidays!

Here's my secrets: I grocery shopped on Saturday, on Sunday I sliced and cleaned my leeks, roasted off a red pepper on the grill, and the bleu cheese was purchased already crumbled ready to use. So I knew during the week that all I would really have to do was saute the leeks quickly, give my flank steak a once over with something heavy to ensure uniform thickness, assemble (roll it up,) get the bread crumb topping on and into the oven it went.

It was smooth sailing all the way up until I realized I did not have any twine, which turned out to be semi-essential! So I looked and looked and found these small skewers (what they were from I'll never know) and I managed to "pin" my roulade closed. Laugh if you will, but it worked, in a not-so-pretty way, it worked. Kitchen twine is now on my Target list this weekend!

Red Pepper, Leek, Bleu Cheese Steak Roulade

(inspired from Food Network Magazine December, 2009)

For the steak:

1 large red bell pepper (charred and peeled)

3 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil

1 leek, white and light green parts only, cleaned and finely chopped

1 clove garlic, minced

Kosher salt and fresh black pepper

1.5 pound flank steak, trimmed

1/2 to 3/4 cup crumbled bleu cheese

For the crust:

3/4 cup breadcrumbs

3 tsp dried rosemary (or fresh)

3 tsp fresh chopped parsley

3 tsp grated Parmesan

3 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil

Kitchen twine for tying

Prepare the stuffing for the steak. Rub the outside of the red pepper with a bit of canola or vegetable oil and roast the red pepper under the broiler or on the grill for 8-10 minutes. When the skin is slightly charred remove pepper from heat and place in a paper bag for 5-10 minutes. I'm not entirely sure why, but I've heard that this will help to ease the skin from the pepper, which is your goal. Once the pepper is peeled, remove stem and seeds.

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Saute the leeks in a little butter or olive oil until soft, about 5 minutes, remove from heat and cool.

Gently pound the steak with the back edge of a heavy pan, or with a meat mallet, until the entire steak is about 1/4 inch thick. Lay the steak on a cutting board with the long side facing you. Season the steak with salt and pepper. Place the red peppers in one row lengthwise, leaving a one inch boarder. Lay the leek mixture in the next row, next to the peppers. Lastly lay the crumbled bleu cheese in the last row, leaving an inch border to the end.

Roll the meat into a tight roll, tucking in the filling and seems as you go.

Assemble the crust. Mix the crust ingredients in a small bowl and toss until the mixture resembles wet sand. Brush the roulade with a bit of olive oil, and press the crust topping on top, try and do this rather firmly. Tie the roll with kitchen twine in three to four places, not too hard as to not disturb the topping. Depending on the size and thickness of your steak, you may need to tie the twine before you add the crust and snip off before serving.

Place the steak on a rack in a roasting pan and roast until the crust is nice and golden brown and a thermometer inserted in to the middle registers 130 degrees for medium rare (about 45 minutes.) Transfer to a cutting board and let rest for 15 minutes.

Carefully cut the twine and remove, slice the roll crosswise into slices and serve.