Csáky-rostélyos

Ingredients

• 1¾ lbBeef sirloincut into four slices, pounded thin
• 3½ ozsmoked baconfinely diced, fat rendered
• 2 tbsplardfor searing the rolls
• 2onionfinely diced, one each for filling and sauce
• 2 clovesgarliccrushed, for the sauce
• 2Pointed peppercut into strips, for filling and sauce
• 2tomatocut into wedges, for filling and sauce
• 12⅓ ozLecsó (pepper-tomato stew)ready-made from the jar or freshly cooked from peppers and tomatoes
• 4eggbeaten, binds the filling
• 1 tbspPaprika powderfor the braising base
• ¾ cupsour creamfor finishing the sauce
• 2 tbspflourfor coating the rolls and thickening the sauce
• ½ cupCreamrounds off the sauce (optional)
• 1 tspcarawayground, for filling and braising base (optional)
• saltto taste
• black pepperfreshly ground

Method

1. Cut the beef sirloin into four even slices, pound them thin and season both sides with salt and pepper.
2. Render the diced smoked bacon slowly in a pan until the fat runs out, then lift out the crisp bits and set them aside.
3. For the filling, soften one diced onion in the bacon fat until glassy, fry half of the pepper strips along with it, add half of the tomato wedges, season with salt and cook down to a thick lecsó — or simply warm ready-made lecsó in the fat.
4. Pour the beaten eggs over the lecsó and stir until the mixture sets and is thick enough to spread. Fold in the bacon bits, season with ground caraway if you like, and let it cool.
5. Spread the filling over the beef slices, roll them up and tie them with kitchen string or fix them with roulade pins.
6. Turn the rolls in flour and sear them all over in hot lard until well browned, then take them out.
7. Soften the second diced onion in the frying fat, stir in the crushed garlic and the sweet paprika powder, deglaze immediately with water and add the remaining pepper strips and tomato wedges.
8. Return the rolls to the braising base, cover and simmer over medium heat in the short sauce for about 35–40 minutes, until tender. Lift them out, remove the string or pins and let them rest briefly.
9. Finish the braising liquid with sour cream and flour, let it bubble for a moment and, if you like, pass it through a sieve and enrich it with cream. Warm the rolls in the sauce for a few more minutes, or slice them and spoon the sauce over.

Tips and variations

Instead of sirloin you can use striploin or even pork loin. Some cooks bind the sauce with sour cream alone, others add cream as well and push it through a sieve — both are good. If you'd rather skip the paprika powder, build the braising base with puréed tomatoes instead of fresh peppers and tomatoes. Ground caraway in both the filling and the braising base takes the seasoning in another direction, and the rolls can go straight into the pan without the flour coating. Classic partners are nokedli, bread dumplings or parsley potatoes.