Holstein roulades with red cabbage and sauce

Ingredients for 2 servings:

• 4 slice(s) of roulade(s), of beef
• 150 g bacon, fat, diced
• 150 g gherkins, diced
• 3 large onions, diced
• 4 tbsp mustard, medium hot
• 2 tomatoes, diced
• 200 g soup vegetables, frozen
• 1 jar red cabbage, natural
• 6 m.-sized potatoes
• 3 tbsp goose fat
• 3 tbsp butter
• 1 tbsp jam, blackberry
• 1 tbsp, levelled peppercorns, black
• 1 tsp juniper berries
• 2 bay leaves
• ½ cup cream
• ½ cup crème fraîche
• salt and pepper
• Paprika powder
• some Tabasco
• some flour or sauce thickener
• n. B. water

Instructions

Working time approx. 30 minutes; Cooking/baking time approx. 2 hours; Total time approx. 2 hours 30 minutes

My grandma’s recipe, ideal in the cold season

For the roulades: Pat the roulade meat dry with a paper towel and season with salt and pepper. Then spread a little mustard on it. Spread 1/3 of the diced onions, the diced gherkins, and half of the fatty bacon in the center of the roulade meat (leaving enough space around the edges, otherwise the filling will fall out). Now roll up the roulade meat tightly and secure each roulade with two toothpicks. Sear the roulades on all sides in a large pot or pan with a lid (over high heat for about 10 minutes). Add 1/3 of the onions and reduce the heat. After a few minutes, add a little warm water (about 200 ml) and simmer on low for 1 hour. After 1 hour, add the finely chopped tomatoes and the soup vegetables and simmer for 45 minutes, stirring occasionally. Top up any evaporated liquid. Then remove the roulades. Mix a little flour with warm water (or use a sauce thickener), bring the liquid to a boil, and whisk in the flour mixture (sauce thickener) until the desired consistency is reached. Season the sauce to taste with salt, pepper, paprika, and a dash of Tabasco. Finally, fold in cream and/or crème fraîche, if desired. I use about half a cup of each. Return the meat to the sauce and keep warm until ready to serve. You can also serve immediately without adding the meat back in, depending on your timing. For the red cabbage, heat the goose fat in a saucepan. Briefly fry 1/3 of the onions and 1/2 of the bacon cubes. Add the red cabbage to the pan. Now fold in the blackberry jam. Place the peppercorns and juniper berries in a tea strainer, close it tightly, and add it to the pan. Add the bay leaves. Add a little water and simmer on low heat for 20 minutes. Stir occasionally and refill with any evaporated liquid. After the cooking time, remove the tea infuser and bay leaves. The red cabbage is then ready to serve. In the meantime, peel and dice the potatoes, and cook them in salted water until tender. The quantities for 2 people are based on “big eaters,” meaning 2 roulades per person. I always make this dish with these quantities for 2 days, as we can only manage one roulade each day.