When I hear the word “roulade” my image is of chocolate sponge cake, covered in whipped cream, and wrapped into a roll for Christmas Dinner.
This roulade is not a dessert. This is an appetizer idea, a template really, for an endless array of wonderful hors d’oeuvres. It’s not a wrap — one of today’s trendy foods. No, this is distinctly a roll. And therefore I think oh so much more beautiful.
This idea comes from Gillian Duffy’s grand Hors d’Oeuvres book from 1998. [You can see a full cookbook review at this link.} This book was a very forward-thinking stock of appetizer ideas, from the very simple that could be easily prepared to far more sophisticated ideas that do take some time. Gillian believes that time investment is worth every minute or hour or day. We start our dinner parties with apps or hors d’oeuvres and that beginning should be impressive.
This recipe is hybrid, clearly sophisticated and complex, yet readily, easily, quickly prepared. They do save in the refrigerator for a couple of days, so this is one of your treats you can prepare well ahead of a dinner party. Preparing ahead is a key suggestion from Gillian enabling you to serve hors d’oeuvres of quality without exhausting yourself in the process.
In Hors d’Oeuvres, this ginger recipe followed by a classic: Smoked Salmon and Dill. Gillian notes that these roulades can be created with the widest possible array of ingredients, textures, and flavors. Ham, cheese, crushed avocado, pepper jelly, fruit jams, cream cheese, arugula, herbs, … You can mix and match, use the ingredients separately or combine them in a food processor. Add some nuts for crunch and flavor.
Use your imagination and roll something up. For appetizers, for lunch. Are there scrambled eggs sitting in your kitchen? Try a breakfast roulade, maybe with finely cubed hashed potatoes. And, of course, with hot sauce.
Ginger Roulade
Yield: about 18 hors d’oeuvres
Ingredients:
- One 8-ounce package of cream cheese
- 1 sheet of Mountain Shepherd bread, 12 to 14 inch diameter (lavash—available in some supermarkets and Middle Eastern markets)
- 1 bunch watercress, large stems removed, washed and spun very dry
- One 6-ounce jar of pickled ginger, all liquid squeezed out (available from Korean and Asian stores)
Preparation:
Place the cream cheese in the bowl of a food processor and puree for 15 to 30 seconds until soft.
Unfold and flatten the sheet of bread and spread the cream cheese in a square, leaving a 1-inch border clear at the sheet's edge. Place the watercress leaves in a single layer on top of the cream cheese. Then cover the watercress with a single layer of pickled ginger.
Trim the edges of the bread, leaving a 1-inch border around the cream cheese square. Roll the bread from the edge nearest you, taking care not to break the bread. (If it breaks, not to worry. Just keep on going; it will stick together again.) Roll up half the bread and cut off the roll from the remainder of the sheet. Now roll up the second half. Cut each of the two rolls in half.
To store, wrap the four unsliced rolls tightly in a wet paper towel wrung dry. Place the wrapped rolls in a plastic bag and refrigerate them for at least 30 minutes. They will keep up to 2 days.
Cut into ½-inch slices just before serving.
Source: Hors d’Oeuvres by Gillian Duffy [Morrow, 1998]