We had the big family Christmas this year, twenty people with five vegetarians. I made this for Christmas Day, and served it as an alternative for turkey et al. It was delicious, but it took quite a bit to find a corner to make it in while all the turkey and trimmings were being prepared. I used the recipe in Delia Smith’s Christmas – a very fine book indeed.
INGREDIENTS:
For the stuffing:
- 2 onions, finely chopped
- 50g butter
- 1 tsp chopped fresh sage
- 1 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
- 75g panko breadcrumbs
- Salt and pepper
For the roulade:
- 100g grated hard cheese
- 50g butter
- 25g plain flour
- 275ml cold milk
- 3 large eggs, separated
- 40g chopped and toasted hazelnuts
- 1 tbsp grated parmesan
- salt and pepper
For the parsnip filling
- 3 large parsnips, peeled and chopped
- 25g butter
- 2 tbsp double cream
- freshly grated nutmeg
- salt and pepper
You will also need a clean tea-towel, greaseproof paper or tin foil, and a swiss roll tin, or similar baking tray.
METHOD:
- Preheat the oven to 200C gas 6
- Make the stuffing layer first. Melt the butter in a small pan, and fry the chopped onions for around five to six minutes, until translucent.
- Add the herbs, breadcrumbs, salt and pepper, and stir together.
- Meanwhile, line the swiss roll tin with greaseproof paper, silicon paper or greased tin foil.
- Make a thin layer of the stuffing in the swiss roll tin.
- Next, make the cheese layer. Put the butter, milk and flour together in a saucepan. Heat this on a medium heat, stirring until thickened, season with salt and pepper and continue to cook on a low heat for a couple more minutes.
- Put the sauce aside to cool. Separate the eggs, making sure the egg whites are in a grease-free bowl. Add the egg-yolks to the white sauce, and whisk them in. Next, add the grated hard cheese, and stir until it is melted in. Check for seasoning, and add salt and pepper to taste.
- In a large bowl and clean whisk, beat the egg whites to soft peaks. (I got my sister to do this.)
- Fold the cheese mixture into the egg-white: Start by adding a little of the egg-white mixture to the cheese sauce and then add the cheese sauce to the egg-whites, fold a spoon at a time until well mixed. Take care to ensure that the mixture retains as much air as possible.
- Pour the cheese mixture over the stuffing and bake in the oven for 25-30 minutes until set. It should be springy and feel firm.
- Last layer: make the parsnip filling. Boil the chopped parsnips for at least 15 minutes, until soft.
- Mix the cooked parsnips with butter, double cream, nutmeg, salt and pepper. Have a really good go at this to make smooth paste.
- Assembly: Put the tea-towel on the table and sprinkle with toasted chopped hazelnuts.
- Turn out the stuffing/cheese layer onto the hazelnuts. Spread the parsnips onto the stuffing layer, and then roll up the roulade along the longest side, using the teatowel to ensure it ends up as a round shape.
- Transfer to a serving dish and sprinkle with grated parmesan.
I found this to need a bit of reheating at the end to ensure it was hot enough to serve with the turkey. Turn the oven down to 180C, cover the roulade with tin foil, and heat through for around 20 minutes.