Rouladen

Rouladen compares to an Italian braciole. After Italy, Germany is my favourite country to visit. Just like the braciole, the rouladen changes ingredients as you travel through Germany.  Some recipes put a large piece of fat in the centre, while others use bacon.  Sometimes I use pancetta.  I like to experiment and vary the ingredients, and my recipe adds some tomato paste. 

An important part of this dish is the gravy and then the sides.  In Germany a common side is  spaetzle, boiled potatoes or dumplings. I like to serve it with salad because the dish itself is very rich.  Today I use chicken broth and this makes the sauce lighter.  When I use beef broth, the gravy is darker.  Each piece of fettina makes two rolls and you can double the recipe easily.

After Italy, Germany is my favourite to visit.  Austria known for its desserts, borders on northern Italy.  Most of the locals hear my name and automatically think I am German.  I love the area of Italy called Trentino that borders on Austria, and here you can find a real combination of both cultures in the kitchen.   This area hosts the beautiful Dolomites and there are a number of enchanting lakes. As I travel through Italy, I realize that the regions come together through food and stories that make us all proud to be Italians.

My Calabrese Italian braciole recipe, go to :  https://recipesatmytable.com/calabrese-sunday-sauce/

Ingredients for Rouladen

• 4 pieces of  beef fettina cut in half ( i have my butcher cut it very thin)
• salt and pepper
• 1 tbsp of dijon mustard
• 4 slices bacon cut in half
• 8 sweet pickles
• Paprika
• salt, pepper
• freshly grated nutmeg
• 2 tbsp olive oil

The gravy

• 2 cups vegetable or meat broth
• 1/4 cup red wine
• 1 tbsp tomato paste
• 1 tbsp tomato ketchup
• salt and pepper
• 1 tsp old fashioned  Dijon mustard
• 1/4 cup each of cornstarch and cold water ( make a slurry)
• chopped parsley for garnish.

 

The Process

My beef is ready and no need for pounding. I like smaller rouladen; and so, I cut each piece in two.   I sprinkle  each piece with salt and pepper. Use a brush to put a little mustard on each piece.

Place a piece of bacon over each piece. Sprinkle a little onion and one sweet pickle on the meat.

Now roll into little packets tightly.  You can tie with string or secure with toothpicks.

Place the olive oil in a large skillet and brown the rolls. Sear until browned.   Remove from pan.

In another bowl, mix all the ingredients for the gravy and pour into the pan scraping up any brown bits.  I bring the liquid to a boil and pour it into an oven proof dish.

I remove the string or skewers from the rolls and place them in the gravy.  Everything goes into a preheated 350 F oven for about an hour.  If rolls are larger, it may take longer. Grate some Nutmeg over top when ready.   I Served mine with spaetzle and sprinkled it with parsley.