Stuffed Bresaola Cheese Bread and Broccoli (Holy See)

This particular recipe was served during religious ceremonies, so (I hope) it’s appropriate for this application - though I guess I don’t know exactly how "ancient" it actually is. The bread is cheesy and has a nice texture. I have to admit to being a little surprised by it because I kind of expected it to be rock-like without any baking powder or yeast to give it that bready texture. But it really did have a nice flavour and texture and went well with the rest of the meal.

Stuffed Bresaola:
1 lb beef tenderloin
1½ tsp. white wine vinegar
1 tsp. fennel seeds, ground
½ tsp. ground cinnamon
sea salt
black pepper, freshly ground
½ tsp. lard
2 slices prosciutto
2 cloves garlic
2 egg yolks
¼ cup Parmesan cheese
1 Tbsp. fresh parsley, minced
1½ tsp. fresh mint, minced
1 tsp. fresh thyme, minced

Broccoli:
1 bunch broccoli
1 clove garlic, crushed
2 Tbsp. oil
2 Tbsp. orange juice, freshly squeezed
black pepper, freshly ground

Cheese Bread and Beef (Libum):
1 cup feta cheese, drained, crumbled and packed
½ cup all-purpose flour, unbleached
1 egg, beaten
6 bay leaves
2 Tbsp. pure honey

Make the Stuffed Breaola:
Cut the beef loin into slices roughly the size of your hand. Flatten with a meat mallet and drizzle with the vinegar. Sprinkle with the ground fennel, cinnamon, salt and pepper. Stack the pieces and let marinate in the fridge for a couple of hours.

Now rub the meat pieces with the lard and prosciutto. In a small bowl, mix the garlic and egg yolks with the cheese, parsley, mint and thyme. Add a little more pepper to taste.

Spread this mixture over the beef slices and roll up. Place on a skewer with a piece of bacon and a sage leaf between each roll.

Pan cook until medium-rare.

Make the Broccoli:
Boil broccoli in salted water until tender-crisp. Drain, reserving some of the cooking water. Meanwhile, saute garlic in oil for about one minute.

Transfer the garlic to a platter and drizzle with oil and orange juice. Top with cracked pepper and a little bit of the broccoli water.

Make the Bread:
You can actually do the bread ahead of time. Or, preheat your oven to 400°F (200°C).

Put the cheese in a mixing bowl or food processor and mash well until it you get a smooth paste. There should be no lumps in the mixture. Add the flour and blend well, using your fingers if necessary. Now add the egg. The result is going to be a pretty sticky dough.

Divide the dough into two parts (you will need to flour them a little in order to do this). Flatten until they are about a half inch thick. Put the bay leaves on a greased cookie sheet and then place the two pieces of bread over the leaves.

Bake for about 25-30 minutes or until golden. Note: the original recipe said to bake for 1-1½ hours, but mine were well on their way to being burned by about 35 minutes. Make sure you keep checking on them and remove them when they start to brown.

Remove the bay leaves and serve with honey.