Smoked Salmon Roulade

This lovely, light dish can be served for dinner, lunch, breakfast or brunch....it also looks a lot more complicated than it actually is. It is basically a souffle, baked in a flat sheet and rolled up. The base for the souffle can be made ahead of time, and it only takes 15 minutes to bake, so there really is no excuse for not trying it at least once!!

It's been a while since I made this, and the smoked salmon in the freezer made me think of it. I used the grated Parmesan that was in the fridge, some of the red peppers I had roasted a couple of days before, 4 egg whites from the freezer, and of course the smoked salmon.

In a heavy bottomed saucepan, melt:

1 1/2 tablespoons butter

Add, and cook until softened:

1/2 medium onion

Stir in, and cook for a couple of minutes:

1 1/2 tablespons flour
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon salt

Whisk in:

1 cup milk

Continue to cook, whisking, until the sauce thickens and begins to boil. Remove from the heat.

Whisk:

4 eggs

Slowly add the eggs to the sauce, whisking constantly to prevent the eggs from scrambling.

Return to the stove, and cook over a low heat, whisking, until the sauce thickens to the consistency of custard.

Scrape the sauce into a bowl, and whisk in:

1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Stir in:

3/4 cup chopped smoked salmon
3 green onions, minced
1/2 roasted red pepper, diced
1/2 teaspoon lemon zest






At this point, you can put the base for your roulade into the refrigerator, well wrapped until you are ready to bake it. If you are going to be baking it right away, continue on...

Line a 10" X 15" baking sheet that has sides, with parchment paper that overhangs the long sides by a couple of inches. Heat the oven to 400F. Cut a second piece of parchment paper, the same size, and set aside until needed. Have a second baking sheet ready as well.

Whisk to firm, but not dry, peaks:

4 egg whites

Fold the whipped egg whites into the smoked salmon base. Work gently, being careful not to deflate the egg whites.

Scrape the souffle onto the prepared pan, and gently spread it as evenly as possible.

Place the baking sheet in the centre of the oven and bake until golden and puffed, 15 minutes.

Remove from the oven, and immediately place the second sheet of parchment paper over the top of the souffle. Place a second baking sheet on top, upside down.

Flip the two pans over, and remove the top pan.

Carefully peel the top sheet of parchment paper from the souffle.

Starting from the short side, using the parchment paper to help, roll the souffle up as you would a jelly roll.








Use a serrated knife to carefully cut the smoked salmon souffle into 12 slices, and serve. I add fresh diced avocado to the plate, and passed salsa at the table. I made roasted potato wedges to serve with the roulade. All in all, a nice light, but tasty, Sunday night dinner!

• This roulade can be adapted by changing the salmon to diced ham, cooked bacon, smoked trout; use minced fresh chives, parsley, basil instead of green onions; exchange the Parmesan for Swiss cheese, cheddar or pepper Jack cheese; and consider cooking thinly sliced leek instead of diced onion in the sauce.
• No egg whites? Instead of adding 4 whole eggs to the sauce, whisk in 8 egg yolks, and whip 4 of the whites, freezing the remaining 4 for another time.
• If you have any leftovers, they can be used in breakfast sandwhiches or wraps the next day.
• This needs to be served immediately...when it is baked, flipped, rolled and then cut it should be eaten as soon as possible. 
• Serve this with salad, crusty bread, pan fried potatoes, baked potato wedges or asparagus (steamed / grilled / roasted).