Italian Beef Sandwiches

I have been to Chicago, land of the deep dish, but never ate their other claim to fame, the Italian Beef Sandwich.  Man vs. Food happened to do a show in Chi town where Adam Richmond spoke of the Italian Beef Sandwich. I was a little wary at first--what the hell is Giardiniera?! looks like cauliflower and carrots, wtf?!  Not to mention the fact that I had NO idea where to find it in the grocery so the first time we made these I skipped it.  In the end it is DELICIOUS.  Not as tasty as another beef sandwich claimed by a different mid-West wintry town (aka Beef on Weck in my hometown of Buffalo), but it is still good.    Plus it utilizes our favorite tool--the SLOW COOKER!

This time I forgot to marinate the meat the night before, so I threw in about 5 extra garlic cloves and added more spices.  This time I also found the Giardiniera--it's near the pickles.  I liked it, the optional topping gave the sandwich texture and tang.  It's so easy to throw together, you could definitely have this as a weeknight meal.

As of today's post, a lowly 4 people gave this a 3 out of 5.

Recipe by Cooking Light, October 2009

Yield: 8 servings (serving size: 1 sandwich and about 1/3 cup cooking liquid)

Ingredients

• 1  teaspoon  dried Italian seasoning
• 1  teaspoon  crushed red pepper
• 1  (2 1/2-pound) rump roast, trimmed
• 1  (14-ounce) can fat-free, less-sodium beef broth
• 1  garlic clove, minced
• 2  teaspoons  olive oil
• 1  cup  coarsely chopped green bell pepper (about 1 medium)
• 8  (2-ounce) Italian rolls
• Giardiniera (pickled vegetables), chopped (optional)

Preparation

1. Combine first 5 ingredients in a large zip-top bag, and marinate in the refrigerator overnight.
2. Place beef and marinade in an electric slow cooker; cook on LOW 8 hours or until beef is tender. Place beef on a cutting board (reserve cooking liquid); let stand 10 minutes. Thinly slice beef; place in a shallow dish. Pour cooking liquid over beef.
3. Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add bell pepper to pan; sauté 5 minutes or until tender. Slice rolls lengthwise, cutting to, but not through, other side. Hollow out top and bottom halves of rolls, leaving a 3/4-inch-thick shell; reserve the torn bread for another use. Arrange about 3 ounces beef and 2 tablespoons bell peppers on each roll. Drizzle 1 tablespoon cooking liquid over beef and peppers; top with giardiniera, if desired. Serve with remaining 2 1/2 cups cooking liquid for dipping.

Nutritional Information

Calories: 386

Fat: 11.3g (sat 3.4g,mono 4.8g,poly 1.2g)

Protein: 39.4g

Carbohydrate: 29.2g

Fiber: 1.8g

Cholesterol: 102mg

Iron: 5.4mg

Sodium: 479mg

Calcium: 52mg