Monday, August 27, 2018

Spinach & Cheese Roulade

Dinner with friends
We had a lovely dinner with friends in Camps Bay last week – gosh, how the wind can howl there - and our hostess cooked some lovely food. Her starter was something we think you might like to consider for Christmas entertaining – quite retro but really delicious, and it has the usual added advantage that you can make it in advance: a very light, fluffy and moist Spinach and cheese roulade filled with herby cream cheese and smoked trout
Here is Lynne’s recipe: We used frozen spinach; if you want to use fresh, 700g should be enough. Wash well, cook, squeeze out all the moisture then chop finely. You can buy a herb cheese like Boursin and mix it with plain cream cheese. Do season well
1 box Frozen spinach, defrosted – 4 large eggs, separated – 25g cheddar cheese finely grated – salt and freshly ground pepper – a good grating of nutmeg
Filling: 200g tub of good cream cheese – 10g each of fresh parsley, thyme and dill, finely chopped – 200g slices of smoked salmon or salmon trout
Preheat your oven to 200ºC. Mix the herbs with the cream cheese and put into the fridge until the roulade is ready
Line a 33 x 23cm Swiss roll tin with baking paper, folding at the corners. Squeeze as much moisture out of the spinach as you can, then stir in the egg yolks, cheese and seasoning. Beat the egg whites with a pinch of salt until stiff then, using a large metal spoon, stir in a quarter of the egg white. Then carefully fold in the rest of the egg white, a third at a time, try to keep the mixture light and airy. Spread onto the tin and bake for 15 minutes until firm to the touch. Cover with a clean lightly damp tea towel and leave to cool. Then turn it out onto the tea towel and carefully remove the baking paper. Spread on the cream cheese and then cover with the smoked salmon. Roll it up first by folding over a small edge of the roulade and then, using the tea towel, carefully roll it up. Do not try to roll too tightly and expect it to crack slightly. Plate it and cover with cling film until you are ready to serve. This makes at least 6 large slices

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