You don’t need to go to Ferdinando’s in Palermo to enjoy these savory rollatini. They’re easy to assemble and cook in just a few minutes on the grill. For a lovely main course in summer, serve with a tossed green salad or a tomato-and-basil salad.
Recipe information
Yield
makes 12 rollatini, serving 6
Ingredients
Recommended Equipment
Preparation
Step 1
Drop the garlic slices into the olive oil, and let it infuse for 30 minutes to an hour.
Step 2
Pound the veal scallops into thin scaloppine: First, place each slice between sheets of wax paper and tenderize it, preferably with the toothed face of a meat mallet—don’t tear through the meat. Flatten and spread the meat into a thin oval, roughly 8 inches long and 4 inches wide and 1/4 inch thick. The pieces will vary in size.
Step 3
To make the rollatini filling, toss together the bread crumbs, pecorino, oregano, chopped parsley, and 1/2 teaspoon salt in a bowl. Drizzle over it 4 tablespoons of the garlic-infused oil (discarding the slices), and keep tossing the crumbs until they’re evenly moistened.
Step 4
Lay out the scaloppine and lightly salt the top surface. Sprinkle a tablespoon or a bit more of the bread crumbs over each scaloppine, covering the top almost to the edges. Starting at one of the narrow ends, roll up each of the scaloppine the long way, enclosing the crumbs. Stick a toothpick into the flap end of the meat all the way, and all the way through the roll, to hold it together.
Step 5
Brush the rolls with some of the remaining oil, set them on a platter, and sprinkle the remaining bread crumbs on top. Let the rollatini sit (so the flavors permeate the meat) for 20 minutes.
Step 6
Meanwhile, light your grill and heat the rack over a medium flame or bed of charcoal or wood coals (my favorite for flavor). Set the rollatini on the grill, and rotate them every 1 1/2 to 2 minutes, to keep them evenly moist as they cook. Occasionally brush or drizzle over them more garlic-infused oil. When they’re grill-marked all around, after 7 minutes or so, check doneness by slicing into a roll. If the center is not warm, continue grilling slowly, lowering the flame or spreading out the coals as needed.
Step 7
Remove to a warm platter, brush the rollatini again with oil, and let them sit for a couple of minutes before serving.
