Goats Cheese Roulade with Leek and Walnut Filling
If I had time amidst party catering this weekend and next I’d treat myself to this. Maybe next month…
Goats Cheese Roulade with Leek and Walnut Filling
Serves 6 to 8
2oz/55g butter
2oz/55g plain flour
1 pint/570ml strained flavoured milk (see ingredients and method below)
2oz/55g grated Cheddar
6oz/170g soft goats cheese, rindless
extra pepper, if liked
grated nutmeg
4 large eggs, separated
For the filling:
2 tablespoons olive oil
6 medium leeks, washed, trimmed and sliced thinly
chopped parsley
7oz/200g tub crème fraîche
3oz/85g walnuts, crushed and dry-roasted in a saucepan for several minutes (make sure to shake the pan)
a pinch of salt
freshly ground pepper
For the flavoured milk:
1 pint/570ml milk
1 onion, cut in half
1 bay leaf
1 stick of celery
a few peppercorns
1/2 teaspoon rock salt
To flavour the milk, put it in a saucepan with the onion, bay leaf, celery, peppercorns and rock salt and heat till a skin forms. Take the pan off the heat and leave to cool completely, so that the milk has time to be infused with all the flavours. When it is quite cold, strain it and set aside.
Line a baking tray measuring about 10in x 12in (25cm x 30cm) with baking parchment, putting a dab of butter at each corner to hold the paper firmly in place. Melt the butter in a saucepan and stir in the flour. Let this cook for a minute, before gradually adding the strained milk, stirring all the time - I find it best to use a wire whisk - until the sauce boils. Let it simmer gently for a moment, then take the pan off the heat and stir in the grated Cheddar and goats cheese. Season with pepper if you think it needs more, and nutmeg. Beat in the egg yolks, one by one.
Lastly, in a clean bowl, whisk the egg whites till they are very stiff and, with a large metal spoon, fold them quickly and thoroughly through the sauce. Pour and scrape this into the paper-lined tray and bake in a moderate oven, 350F/176C/Gas Mark 4, for 20 to 25 minutes, till the roulade feels firm to the touch and the surface is puffed up and golden. Remove from the oven, cover with a slightly dampened tea towel and leave to cool.
For the filling, measure the oil into a non-stick frying or sauté pan and cook the sliced leeks over a moderate heat, stirring, till they are very soft. Do try to slice them thinly - not only do they look and taste better, but they take a very short time to cook, about four to five minutes. Let the leeks cool.
Lay a sheet of baking parchment on a work surface or table. Scatter the chopped parsley over it. Take the short ends of paper in either hand and flip the roulade face down, as it were, on to the parsley. Peel the paper off the back of the roulade. Spread the crème fraîche over the surface, then scatter on the cooled nuts. Distribute the leeks over everything. I find a fork the easiest thing to use for this. Season with the merest pinch of salt and plenty of freshly ground black pepper.
Roll the roulade up away from you and slip it on to a serving plate. Leave it rolled up in its paper if you do this more than an hour in advance, so it retains a tight shape. Slip it off the paper before serving.
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