Rolada Wołowa Śląska

Ingredients

• 4 slices beef topside, about 150 g each and 1 cm thick
• 2 tbsp Polish or Dijon mustard
• 8 rashers smoked streaky bacon
• 2 medium onions
• 4 fermented dill pickles
• 2 tbsp plain flour
• 2 tbsp lard
• 600 ml beef stock
• 1 tsp sweet paprika
• 2 bay leaves
• 4 allspice berries
• 100 ml single cream
• 1 tsp cornflour
• salt and black pepper

Before you cook

• Lay each beef slice between two sheets of cling film.
• Beat the beef with a mallet until it is about 5 mm thick.
• Halve the onions and slice them into thin half moons.
• Quarter the pickles lengthways.
• Season both sides of the beef with salt and pepper.

Steps

1. Spread half a tablespoon of mustard over one side of each beef slice.
2. Lay two rashers of bacon along the length of each slice.
3. Scatter a quarter of the sliced onion over the bacon.
4. Lay four pickle quarters end to end down the middle.
5. Fold the two long edges of the beef inwards over the filling.
6. Roll each slice up tightly from the short end.
7. Tie each roll with kitchen string or secure it with two cocktail sticks.
8. Dust the rolls all over with flour and tap off the excess.
9. Heat the lard in a heavy casserole over medium-high heat.
10. Brown the rolls on all sides for about eight minutes in total.
11. Sprinkle the paprika over the rolls and turn them once.
12. Pour in the beef stock.
13. Add the bay leaves and allspice berries.
14. Bring the pot to a simmer and cover it with a lid.
15. Cook at the barest simmer for one hour and forty-five minutes, turning the rolls every half hour.
16. Test a roll with a fork; it should give with almost no pressure.
17. Lift the rolls onto a warm plate and remove the string.
18. Boil the sauce hard for five minutes to reduce and concentrate it.
19. Stir the cream into the sauce and season it with salt and pepper.
20. Whisk in the cornflour slaked with a little cold water if the sauce is still thin.
21. Return the rolls to the sauce and warm them through for three minutes.
22. Serve with Silesian potato dumplings and braised red cabbage.