Spätzle‏ and Rouladen

My sister, Janet, is an excellent cook and she married in to a family of excellent cooks – they even have a family cookbook. The Niemann family is of German descent and one of their favorite meals is Spätzle‏ with Rouladen. Janet’s mother-in-law even ordered Spätzle‏ presses from Germany for her daughters and daughters-in-law.

When I told my sister Spätzle‏ was the Daring Cook’s challenge for the month, she invited me to come and cook it with her in her beautiful kitchen. She lives in a small country town and it was a pleasure driving through our gorgeous mountains and spending time cooking with her.

Spätzle is an egg noodle, but it’s moister and softer than traditional pasta. You don’t need a press to make Spätzle‏, just cut thin strips of dough with a knife and scrape the strips into boiling salt water. Rouladen is thin sliced beef rolled up and filled with chopped onion and bacon. Many Rouladen recipes wrap a pickle inside with the onion and bacon, but Janet’s mother-in-law’s recipe doesn’t include a pickle.

Janet’s tips: Spätzle‏ is best if cooked right before you’re ready to eat it. You can make the dough ahead of time, up to 3 hours, and keep the bowl covered with a damp towel. If you have to cook it ahead of time, toss it with a little olive oil so the noodles don’t clump together. Spätzle‏ also freezes well.

Spätzle‏
adapted from Judith Niemann

1 1/2 cups all purpose or bread flour
1 1/2 cups semolina flour
3 eggs
1 – 1 1/2 cups water
3/4 teaspoon salt

Mix together all ingredients until smooth. Dough will form bubbles. Place dough in Spätzle‏ press and press into boiling water. Simmer until noodles rise to the top of the water, then continue cooking 1 minute longer. (If necessary, scrap the bottom of the pan.) Remove with a slotted spoon and drain well. Place cooked noodles in a large bowl and repeat cooking process until all dough is cooked. Serve noodles with meat and gravy.

Rouladen
adapted from Judith Niemann

6 thin slices of lean beef (I used a top round roast and had the butcher slice it in 1/4 slices)
6 tablespoons chopped onion
6 tablespoons chopped bacon (I used Costco Hormel frozen fully cooked bacon)
3 cups water
salt
pepper

Pound beef to tenderize if necessary. (The top round was perfect without tenderizing.) Sprinkle each piece of meat with salt and pepper. Place 1 tablespoon chopped onion and 1 tablespoon chopped bacon on each piece of meat. Roll up and secure with a toothpick.

Brown rolls in a heavy pot with a little oil or bacon grease. After the meat is browned, add water. Cook on low heat until meat is tender (2-3 hours). Thicken gravy with flour or cornstarch. Add additional salt and pepper to taste. Serve with Spätzle‏.

Serves 6

Print Recipe

Visit the Daring Kitchen to see the all the creative pastas the Daring Cooks cooked up this month. Thanks Steph for a terrific challenge.

Tagged as: cooking, food, Pasta, recipe