Roulades

Here is a different and fun way to serve beef. I first had roulades on one of my visits to Austria. They cook fairly quickly once the prep is finished. The sauce is great on the roulades as well as on a side like pasta or mashed potatoes. Come on, roll with it!

Beef Roulades
2 pounds beef Eye of Round roast
2 teaspoons salt
1 leek
2 medium size carrots
1 large parsnip
1 to 2 large dill pickles
1 to 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard, divided
1 tablespoon canola oil
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 1/2 cup water
2 teaspoons beef stock paste
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
1/2 cup cream
Slice beef into 1/4 inch slices. Pound slices with a meat tenderizer to 1/8 inch thick, sprinkle with salt and set aside. Cut dark green and the white parts of leek off and discard or save for another use. Rinse the pale green part of the leek with running water to clean. Slice in half length wise, cut into thin strips that are as long as the beef slices are wide. Peel carrots and cut into lengths to match the leeks and then into thin strips. Do the same to the parsnip. Cut the dill pickles into strips to match the other veggies. Spread each slice of beef with 1/2 teaspoon of mustard. Place 5 or 6 pieces of leek, carrot, parsnip and 1 piece of pickle in the middle of each slice of meat. (There will be some veggies left over that will be used in the sauce.) Pull sides of meat up and secure with a toothpick. Heat a large skillet over medium high heat. Turn oven on to 300 degrees. When skillet is hot, put oil in bottom and then place roulades toothpick side down into hot oil. Cook for 3 minutes without disturbing. While they are browning, dice remaining veggies into 1/4 inch pieces. Turn the roulades over and brown another side for 3 more minutes. Repeat until all 4 sides are browned. Remove from skillet, place on a baking sheet and out into oven. Place diced veggies into hot pan and saute for 2 minutes. Add tomato paste and stir and cook for another minute. Deglaze pan with water, scraping bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon to loosen fond. Add the beef stock paste and vinegar and stir. Bring sauce to a boil and reduce heat to medium. Cook sauce until water had reduced by half. Remove roulades from oven, remove toothpicks and place on a serving platter. Finish sauce by whisking in 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard and cream. Cook sauce for 1 minute and then spoon over roulades and serve.

Hints: Although this seems quite involved, it is not very hard to do. You can use a different cut of beef, pound it out just the same. Or use venison or elk if you have it. Cut the pieces if needed so that you have small packets, the meat just wrapping around the veggies so it can be secured with the toothpicks. Bacon can be added to the dish on the inside with the veggies or the outside by wrapping it around the roulade. Be sure they get browned nicely before finishing them in the oven. A meat tenderizer is the easiest way to pound the meat but a heavy rolling pin covered in plastic wrap would work.

These are nice for a special occasion or just a fun dinner that is out of the norm. Warm and savory, roulades are hearty fare that will fill up your family and friends, both body and soul.