Roulades with Spätzle (Updated - v2)

 

Attention! Preparation time around 2 hours!

Since this is a Swabian recipe, it goes with Spätzle

Preparation You'll need: One medium pot with lid A non-stick pan (or a sensible stew pot instead of a pot and pan ;-)
Ingredients (for 2 persons) You could also make 4 (double everything) and then save 2 of them in the sauce for 2 days later. Requires only a little extra effort. 2 thin large slices of beef (the topside, I think is the right word) for the Roulades 4-6 thin slices of smoked ham 2 gherkins 2 small onions 1 medium carrot 2 celery stalks around 2 tsp. spicy mustard (in Germany that would be Löwensenf Extra or Dijon mustard) some flour 2 Tbsp. oil 2 Tbsp. tomato paste 150 mL red wine 500 mL beef stock Salt, pepper, cayenne pepper 6 toothpicks (wood) The ingredients for Spätzle (2 eggs, 100-120 g flour, salt)
Preparation of the ingredients For the sauce: Cut 1 medium carrot, 1 of the 2 medium onions and 2 celery stalks in small pieces, set all aside in a plate. For the roulades: Slice or dice the gherkins, finely chop the second onion. Set in a second plate aside.
Preparing the Roulades Take one slice of beef, put it on a board salt and pepper it lightly spread mustard on it put 2-3 slices of ham on it Now put some of the onions and the gherkins on top.
Roll and fix the Roulades Now fold the sides of the meat a bit and roll it carefully up. Fix it with 3 toothpicks, so that it will not open again, and doesn't loose the filling. Now cover the Roulade with some flour. Repeat all that with the other Roulade.
Frying the roulades and the veggies Heat up oil in the non-stick pan. Fry the Roulades on high heat until they are nicely brown on the outside. Salt and pepper them a bit and place them in the pot. Now fry the rest of the onions, the carrot and the celery on medium heat in the pan. Then add 2 Tbsp. tomato paste and 150 mL wine. Let it boil well for a moment before adding 500 mL beef stock.
The sauce Mix well and pour over the roulades in the pot. The pot has the right size when the Roulades are covered by the sauce just so. Now cover the pot with its lid and let it simmer for aroun 70 minutes. Now you could do the Spätzle dough.
The final steps After 70 minutes you will have one fantastic smelling and tasting sauce. Remove the Roulades again and add salt, pepper and cayenne pepper to the sauce to your liking. Let it boil up again and stir well. Now put the Roulades back in and let them simmer for another 10 minutes. That's it. Cook the Spätzle during these last 10 Minutes.