Happy New Year! Were your party snacks successful? And what to make the day after? Spinach cream cheese roll is the ultimate left-over snack. Yes, you heard me. It is made out of what is left from all of the festivity days. I think it looks fabulous! Not only does it look beautiful but it tastes amazing as well. Spinach, cream cheese, salmon, ham are all delicious ingredients, which make this dish so special.
Even though it sounds like an “old” classic, it’s truly an eye-catcher. Making this spinach cream cheese roll is simple and fun. Everyone can make it. You can make it!
This stunning dish consists only of a few ingredients. The roll base is packed with iron-rich spinach. And cream cheese, chives, salmon and ham make the perfect filling for this spinach roll. Salmon and ham together? Well, I made two rolls; one with salmon and one with ham. However, probably I could also experiment with a salmon-ham combo.
Ingredients for 2 spinach cream cheese rolls (ca 30 cm long):
- 300 g spinach (fresh, cooked)
- 3 egg yolks + 1 egg
- 3 egg whites
- 1 tsp nutmeg
- salt, pepper
- 1 tsp butter to grease the form
- 300 g cream cheese
- ½ lime (zest)
- chives (chopped)
- 100 g salmon (smoked, slices)
- 100 g cooked ham (slices)
Start with the spinach roll base. First, wash and cook the spinach. After it gets soft, transfer it to a bowl and let it cool completely. Once cold, squeeze it well to remove all the water. Then put it in a blender together with three egg yolks and one egg, salt, pepper and nutmeg. Blend until smooth.
Next, preheat the oven to 200º C and lay a parchment paper on a baking tray. Lightly grease it with some butter or oil.
Second, beat the egg whites until stiff peaks are formed. Furthermore, put the spinach-egg mixture into a bowl and fold in the egg whites. This step will make sure the roll base stays fluffy and light. Now pour the mixture onto the baking tray (35x30cm), gently spread it evenly around the tray and put to bake for 12-14 minutes or until set.
Once the spinach base is ready, remove it from the oven and flip it over on a clean parchment paper. Before you remove the parchment paper on top of it, lay a slightly damp kitchen towel on it for a minute. This will make the removing of the parchment paper so much easier. So, remove the paper and cover again with the towel. Leave it to cool.
In the meantime, prepare the filling mixture. Mix the cream cheese, lime zest and chives until well combined. When the spinach roll base is cold, cut it crosswise in half. Then spread the cream cheese filling on both pieces. Cover one piece with smoked salmon and the other one with cooked ham.
Now comes the part which is a little tricky. Turn the roll base, in order to have the longest side (of one piece) facing you. With the help of parchment paper underneath, start rolling the first piece up. Try to roll it as tight as possible, but don’t squeeze it too hard.
Then fold it tightly in a cling film twisting the ends. Do the same with the second one and place them in the fridge to rest for at least one hour. Before serving it, bring it to room temperature. In case it feels a little bit too moist, simply tap it with a paper towel.
Finally, cut the spinach cream cheese roll into 2 cm thick round slices. I find it a fabulous snack, appetizer or light dinner; you name it. Easy, beautiful and delicious.
Enjoy!
