ROLLING IN ROULADEN
Served with spaetzle, these delightful meaty morsels make for the perfect stick-to-your-ribs German meal.
Rouladen (Ru-LAH-den): The word literally rolls off the tongue and onto the plate. The term refers to German dishes of stuffed and rolled meat; and there are endless varieties. But to the ears of German-Americans, it also means “comfort food” as much as stuffed cabbage or pierogies might mean to those of Polish heritage or braciola and ravioli to Italians. It has to be more than coincidence that all of this ethnic home cooking involves stuffing one flavor inside another and slow-cooking until the dish achieves melt-in-your-mouth consistency.

This recipe starts with thinly sliced beef round seasoned with spicy mustard, then stuffed with pickles, sauerkraut and bacon. The combination of sour and salty infuses the meat and gravy with a uniquely Teutonic tinge. These delicious rolls of meat are perfect with homemade noodles or spaetzle, aka German dumplings. Spaetzle is made using the same basic recipe as pasta but with the addition of a little milk to allow them to be dropped into boiling water to cook. The combination is hard to beat on a cool fall evening with the prospect of winter knocking on the door.

Ingredients:
6 slices beef round
2 tablespoons good mustard
6 slices bacon
6 spears dill pickle
1 cup sauerkraut, rinsed and drained
1/2 cup flour
Salt and pepper to taste
2 tablespoons vegetable oil

Instructions:
Have butcher cut beef round into 1/8-inch-thick slices. (Thicker slices should be pounded thin enough so meat can be rolled up.) Spread 1 teaspoon mustard onto each slice along with 1 slice bacon, 1 pickle spear and 1 tablespoon (or more) sauerkraut. Roll meat over stuffing, tuck in ends and continue rolling into a bundle. Secure with butcher’s twine or toothpicks. Dredge rolls in flour that has been seasoned with pepper and a little salt. (Bacon, pickle and kraut add plenty of saltiness, so go easy on salt.) Heat oil in large dutch oven and brown rolls on all sides. Add enough boiling water to barely cover rolls. Bring to a boil then reduce to a simmer. Cover and cook 2 hours.

Serves 6.

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ON THE SIDE . . .

SPAETZLE
Ingredients:
2 eggs
2/3 cup milk
1 dash nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon dry parsley flakes (optional)
2 cups all-purpose flour

Instructions:
Beat eggs and milk together. Add nutmeg and parsley. Stir in flour to make batter. It should be slightly thicker than pancake batter. Bring large pot of salted water to boil. Use spaetzle maker to drop little balls of dough into boiling water. When they float, they are cooked. Remove with strainer spoon. Place into serving bowl; add melted butter to prevent sticking. Continue with remaining batter. If you don’t have a spaetzle maker, press dough through large spoon with holes in it using the back of another spoon. You can also press dough through a box grater (from the inside using the shredding side). The idea is to form irregular droplets that fall into boiling water and become little dumplings. Serve with the rouladen and gravy.

Serves 6