Rouladen – foodistini

When would you consider a meal a Sunday feast? I guess, if I would have to answer the question, the meal would have to fulfill three criteria: (1) long cooking time, (2) ingredients, that are not regularly used in our kitchen, and (3) a certain degree of nostalgia, such as memories of family gatherings at my grandparents.

And these beef Rouladen fulfill my criteria perfectly. They are cooked for over an hour. Meat is something we try to consume rarely. And the Rouladen my grandma makes are still so much better than these – but how could it be any different regarding the difference in experience between us? Or might that just be my nostalgia?

Recipe – Rouladen

Amount: 4 rolls
Prep time: 30 minutes preparation, 1 hour cooking time

150 g onion
80 g carrot
80 g celery root
40 g leak
4 pickles
4 slices meat for Rouladen
4 slices bacon
4 tbsp sweet mustard
salt and pepper
tooth picks
1 tbsp vegetable oil
10 g butter
200 ml rose wine
500 ml beef stock
10 g parsley
1 tsp starch

Peel 150 g onions and cut into cubes.

Cut the vegetables into stripes. Meaning, peel 80 g carrots and 80 g celery root and cut into fine stripes. quarter 40 g leak. Cut 4 pickles into stripes. Remove 5 stripes per Roulade of each vegetable, so 20 stripes per vegetable in total. Cut the rest of the stripes into cubes.

Wash and dry 4 slices of meat for Rouladen. Coat each slice with 1 tbsp mustard. Add a slice of bacon to each and place the vegetables stripes ontop. Season really well with salt and pepper. Roll up the Rouladen (the vegetables and co facing inwards) very tight. Secure with tooth picks.

In a pot, heat 1 tbsp oil and roast the Rouladen. When they are a dark brown on all sides, take them out of the pot.

Add the 150 g onion cubes and 10 g butter to the pot. Sautee until the onions are translucent, then add the vegetable cubes.

When the vegetables are a bit brown add the 200 ml rose wine. Let it come to a boil and scrape of all the brown bits on the bottom of the pot.

Now add 500 ml beef stock and 10 g parsley. Place the Rouladen back in the pot.

Let them simmer on low heat covered with a lid for 1 hour.

Then remove the Rouladen and remove the tooth picks.

Puree the sauce in the pot or remove the vegetables through a sieve.

Dissolve 1 tsp starch with a little bit of water. Add the mixture to the sauce and let it come to a boil. Cook until the sauce has reached your desired consistency.

Now place the Rouladen back in the sauce and (if necessary) reheat them in it.

We cannot keep them longer than a day in the fridge, because they will be eaten almost immediately.

I like to serve them with red cabbage and pretzel dumplings.