A Slight Twist on Swiss Steak w/ Gremolata

I served this recipe with the bean soup mentioned in the previous post. Having all the intentions but not the time to create a pot roast, I substituted thin-sliced sirloin I found at the market, with good results. You could do the same with pot roast, just increasing the time to simmer by a few hours. Here's how this particular dinner went down:

Steaks:
4-6 thinly sliced steak cutlets (sirloin, in this case), hit with salt and pepper.
1 onion, chopped
2 carrots, diced
2 celery sticks, diced
1 clove of garlic, crushed
1 can of crushed tomatoes
4 cups red wine (such as pinot noir)

Brown steaks in heavy saute pan over medium-high heat; working in batches and setting steaks aside once browned.
Add onion, carrots, celery and saute for about five minutes.
Add garlic and saute briefly.
Add wine, de-glaze pan and reduce liquid by half, making sure to get all the brown bits off the bottom of the pan.
Return steaks to the pan, also any juices that have collected in the dish where the steaks were resting.
Cover with the crushed tomatoes.
Add water as needed to bring water level just below the top of the steaks.
Reduce heat to simmer and cook for 1 to 2 hours - until steaks are fork tender.
Once cooked, add salt and pepper to taste.

Gremolata:
1/4 cup finely chopped Italian/flat parsley
2-4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
Zest of one lemon.
Combine all ingredients at least 2o minutes prior to serving.

To serve:
Remove steaks and cut as needed to individual portions and arrange on serving platter. Cover with a bit of the vegetable mixture from pan, garnish with gremolata. Reserve a good bit of the vege mixture and serve in a gravy boat or the like, as well as the gremolata - so diners made add more to taste.

Serve with roasted or on top mashed potatoes, or my favorite: on top of a dollop of creamy Parmesan polenta.