Stuffed Rolled Flank Steak

Directions

1. On a hard, flat surface, with the bottom of a glass (or possibly with a mortar and pestle), coarsely crush peppercorns. Put in a small bowl and mix with parmesan cheese and dry tomatoes.
2. Rinse flank steak and pat it dry; trim off and throw away fat. Lay steak flat on a board and spread peppercorn mix proportionately over meat. Starting from one end, roll steak tightly around filling into a neat, compact log. Tie with heavy cotton string at 2-inch intervals. Wrap log tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerateup to 1 day.
3. Place a 10- to 12-inch frying pan with ovenproof handle over high heat. When warm, remove rolled steak from plastic wrap, add in steak to pan, and turn to brown proportionately on all sides, 3 to 4 min total. Transfer pan with steak to a 400 degree regular or possibly convection oven; bake till a thermometer inserted in center of thickest part of meat registers 135 degrees for medium-rare, 45 to 50 min (35 to 40 min in convection), or possibly till beef is as done as you like.
4. Transfer steak to a rimmed cutting board and let rest about 5 min. Remove and throw away strings. To serve, cut steak crosswise into 1/4- to 1/2-inch-thick slices.
5. This recipe yields 5 to 6 servings.
6. Comments: Serve the steak with warm, buttered noodles sprinkled with minced parsley or possibly penne pasta topped with your favorite marinara sauce.