This was my first experience with both roulades and watercress. I think there will likely be more roulades in my future! They're a bit finicky to put together, but it makes for a really fun presentation.

Making the roulade base wasn't too difficult, but I found handling it once baked a bit tricky. It was extremely soft and delicate and I was constantly tearing it while trying to spread the cream cheese. I would recommend you make sure the cream cheese is very soft before trying to spread it. I think I'd be tempted to try to loosen it with a tablespoon or two of sour cream next time, just to make it a little easier to spread. Using a butter knife rather than a flexible spatula also helped.

The other thing to watch out for is the greasing. If you don't grease everything very, very well it will stick. My roulade base turned out of the pan beautifully, but it seems that I didn't grease the paper that I turned it out onto well enough and it stuck to that quite a bit when the time came to roll it up. Grease everything. And then grease it a bit more!

Smoked Salmon, Cream Cheese, and Watercress Roulade

From The Good Egg by Marie Simmons

Ingredients

• 250g cream cheese, softened
• 3 Tbsp. minced fresh chives
• 1 Tbsp. minced fresh dill
• 1-2 Tbsp. sour cream (optional)
• 1 recipe Basic Roulade, made without cheese, cooled
• 2 c. chopped watercress
• 250g smoked salmon, chopped¹
• 1/2 c. finely chopped cucumber²
• 2 Tbsp. capers, rinsed and chopped

Directions

1. Combine cream cheese, chives, dill, and sour cream (if using) and beat with a wooden spoon until light.
2. Spread the cream cheese mixture over the roulade leaving a 1cm (~1/2") border around the edges.
3. Top evenly with watercress followed by salmon, cucumber, and capers.
4. Gently roll up the roulade from the long edge. Use the parchment paper to help lift and roll it rather than trying to touch the roulade itself. Keep a spatula handy to help release the roulade from the paper in any spots where it might be sticking.
5. Cut into thick slices and serve.

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¹ Only just now realized that I totally forgot to chop the salmon. I just laid big ol' strips on the roulade and rolled it up! Simmons notes that chopping the salmon before adding it to the roulade makes the finished roll easier to slice. Good to know. ^Back
2 This was fine, but I'd be tempted to bump it up to 3/4 c. next time. ^Back

I wasn't actually expecting to be that enamored of this cold chopped veggie dish, but it's actually really tasty. The acidity of the lime juice means it works well with fish and seafood. In this instance I actually made it as an accompaniment to a simple paneer curry. I simplified the preparation a bit, but I don't think it suffered for it.

Kachumber

Slightly adapted from 660 Curries by Raghavan Iyer

Ingredients

• 1 large English cucumber, cubed¹
• 1 medium tomato, cored and cubed
• 1 small red onion, finely chopped
• 1/4 c. fresh cilantro, chopped
• 1-2 fresh green Thai, cayenne, or serrano chiles, chopped
• juice of 1 lime
• 1 tsp. Chaat Masala

Directions

1. Combine all ingredients and mix well.
2. Serve room temperature or chilled.

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¹ The original recipe says to peel the cucumber and scoop out the seeds. I didn't bother with any of that and just chopped up the cucumber with the skin on and seeds in. I think it was just fine that way. Not to mention easier prep and less waste. ^Back