Rolada śląska z kluskami

The story

In Upper Silesia, in southern Poland, Sunday dinner traditionally means three things on one plate: rolada, a roll of thin beef wrapped around bacon, pickle and onion; kluski śląskie, white potato dumplings; and modro kapusta, red cabbage, called blue in the local dialect. The Silesian Tourist Organization traces the roulade to the interwar years, when beef was scarce and prized and the dish was served mainly at weddings, often with the meat given as a wedding gift. Later it appeared at christenings, first communions and holidays, and after the Second World War it became the usual Sunday dinner in many homes. It is still expected at Silesian weddings. The dumplings are made from boiled potatoes and potato starch, about one part starch to three or four parts potato, and each gets a small dimple that holds the gravy. They go by several local names, among them kluski biołe and guminowe, and both dishes are on the Polish Ministry of Agriculture's list of traditional products for the Silesian province, the dumplings also for Opole. The roulades can braise a day ahead, leaving only the dumplings for Sunday.