2 garlic cloves, finely minced
4 scallions, thinly sliced
¼ cup chopped fresh Italian parsley
4 ounces thinly sliced local salami (from Bella Fortuna Restaurant in Lake Leeleanau, MI), cut into ¼-inch-wide matchsticks
8 ounces Leelanau Cheese Raclette (from Suttons Bay), cut into ¼-inch cubes
½ cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
1 cup fresh Michigan dried cherries, roughly chopped
½ cup toasted bread crumbs
¼ cup plus 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
One 10-inch-long beef tenderloin roast cut from the heart of the tenderloin (2½ to 3 pounds), butterflied
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
Serves 6
In a medium bowl, combine the garlic, scallions, parsley, salami, Fontina, Parmigiano, cherries, and bread crumbs and mix well. Add ¼ cup of the olive oil and mix well with your hands or a spoon. Set aside.
Cut six 15-inch-long pieces of kitchen twine. Open out the beef, season on both sides with salt and pepper, and place it on a work surface so a long side is toward you. Spread the bread crumb mixture evenly over the beef, leaving a ½-inch border along the side farthest from you; press and gently pack the stuffing mixture onto the beef to keep it in place (you may have a little stuffing left over—it makes a great panini filling). Starting from the side nearest you, roll up the meat like a jelly roll, pressing any stuffing that falls out of the ends back into the roll, and tie tightly with the twine, spacing the ties evenly (it’s easier if you have a friend to tie the beef while you hold the roll together). Wrap tightly in plastic wrap to make a compact roll, and place in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours, or as long as overnight.
Preheat a gas grill or prepare a fire in a charcoal grill.
Carefully unwrap the beef roll and, using a very sharp knife, cut it between the ties into six 1½-inch-thick pinwheels. Brush gently on both sides with the remaining 3 tablespoons olive oil and season with salt and pepper.
Gently lay the pinwheels on the hot part of the grill and cook, unmoved, for 5 to 7 minutes. Using a spatula, carefully turn each pinwheel over and cook for 4 minutes longer for medium-rare. (Don’t be alarmed if some of the cheese in the stuffing starts to melt and char on the grill, making kind of a savory Florentine-cookie-like thing; but if you find it charring too much, move the pinwheels to a slightly cooler part of the grill.) Transfer to a platter and serve.
Note: To butterfly the beef, simply use a sharp knife to cut it horizontally almost but not all the way in half, starting from one of the long sides, so you can open it out like a book.
Suggested Wine
Winemaker Mark Johnson from the Chateau Chantal Winery on the Old Mission Peninsula suggests the following wine with this Mario Batali Recipe:
2010 Chateau Chantal Proprietor's Reserve Cabernet Franc -- $26
Black pepper, violets, plums, and blueberry aromas balance the fruit in this wine with the oak. "This is a medium-bodied, full-throttle Cab Franc. Cabernet Franc is a standard blending grape in Bordeaux that has gained speed in cooler American regions such as Michigan, New York and Pennsylvania. As a single varietal, it sings. It has full-throttle fruit -- more cranberry than raspberry -- with a slam of dark chocolate and espresso. And this one has nice acidity to hold it all together, plus tannins that are chalky and delicious. It's time for everybody to embrace this grape as a single varietal. This example is dry, fruity and satisfying." Sandra Silfven, Detroit News
Chateau Chantal wines are available online.
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