As previously mentioned, I have had much more experience cooking German fare than French. Rouladen and red cabbage are two foods that my Oma used to make when I was a little kid. (Although back then I hated the pickle. Rouladen blasphemy.) I've made up my own recipes based on helping my Oma make them.
Rouladen
8 thinly sliced beef roulades (usually called rouladen beef)
8 slices bacon (Thick or Thin, personal preference)
1 white onion, sliced thinly and cut in half
8 garlic pickles (or 4 huge ones sliced in half)
Salt and Pepper
- On a meat cutting board, lay out one peice of beef.
- Layer bacon, then onion, then salt and pepper.
- Place pickle at one end and roll up beef into a roulade, using a metal (oven-safe) skewer to hold it together.
- Repeat!
- Pre-heat oven to 350F.
- Once all the rouladen are done, in an oven-safe frying pan, heat 2 TBSP of oil over med-high heat. (Watch that it doesn't start to smoke.)
- Place all rouladen in hot pan. Sear all sides of each rouladen until golden brown.
- Place frying pan, with all the rouladen, into the oven.
- Fill bottom of pan with 1/4 cup water.
- Bake rouladen for about 50 minutes. Checking every ~15 minutes to baste rouladen in pan juices. (If juices run low, add more water. Make sure you don't let the pan run dry! If the fats burn your gravy will be ucky.)
- After rouladen are finished, place on a plate and tent with tin foil (to keep warm).
Gravy
- Start the gravy! No heat to start. In rouladen pan, add flour to soak up all the fat, using a whisk to break up the chunks. (Add more flour until all fat is adsorbed.)
- Add COLD water to pan, whisking ferociously to get lumps out. Add enough water to dissolve all lumpies.
- Turn on the heat (med-high). Bring gravy to a boil. It should start thickening. Add water to thin gravy as it comes to a boil (I like to use the potato water from the boiled potatoes because it's salty).
- After the gravy has re-thickened again, season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve!
Now, the red cabbage is a different story. Traditionally made, it's much like sauerkraut in that's it supposed to be fermented. But that takes forever. So I make my own fresh.
Rot Kohl (or Red Cabbage)
Oil
1 head red cabbage, cored and sliced thinly
1 Granny Smith apple (or other tangy green apple), cored and chopped
3 - 4 TBSP balsamic vinegar (depending on the size of your cabbage, add more or less)
2 TSBP brown sugar
- In a large dutch oven, heat oil over medium heat.
- Add red cabbage and apple. Stir.
- As cabbage starts to soften, add balsamic vinegar and sugar.
- Cook, stirring often, for 45 minutes to an hour (or until cabbage is soft).
When I was a kid we usually served the rouladen with mustard. For me, gravy is just fine. Mmm Mmm childhood memory meals.
Also! The BF made sure we had dessert. Lovely shortbread cookies!
But yah, basic german fare. I think I'll track down a goose for the next german cuisine experiment. Dun Dun Duuuun! (And make some klose -potato dumplings- too.)
-Andrea
The Half-Assed Hobbyist