Roulade

This article is about the culinary term. For the musical term, see Roulade (music).

Flank steak roulade being browned

Cooked flank steak roulade

A roulade is a dish of filled rolled meat or pastry. Traditionally found in various European cuisines, the term roulade originates from the French word "rouler", meaning "to roll". However, the term may be used in its generic sense to describe any filled rolled dish, such as those found in maki sushi.

Meat

A meat-based roulade typically consists of a slice of steak rolled around a filling such as cheese, vegetables, or other meats. A roulade, like a braised dish, is often browned then covered with wine or stock and cooked. Such a roulade is commonly secured with a toothpick, metal skewer or a piece of string. The roulade is then sliced into rounds and served. Of this common form, there are several notable dishes:

• Braciole, Italian roulade consisting of beef, pork or chicken usually filled with Parmesan cheese, bread crumbs and eggs
• Paupiette, French veal roulade filled with vegetables, fruits or sweetmeats
• Rouladen, German and Hungarian beef roulade filled with onions, bacon and pickles. Also Kohlrouladen, cabbage filled with minced meat.
• Španělské ptáčky (Spanish birds) are roulade in Czech cuisine. The recipe is practically identical with German Rouladen, perhaps omitting wine and adding a wedge of hard boiled egg and/or frankfurter to the filling. Unlike the large roulade, sliced before serving, the "birds" are typically 10 cm (3.9 in) long, served whole with a side dish of rice or Czech style bread dumplings.
• Szüz tekercsek ("Virgin rouladen"), in Hungary a dish filled with minced meat.
• Zrazy (or "rolada"), in Poland

Pastry

A slice of cake roulade

Some roulades consist of cake (often sponge cake) baked in a flat pan rolled around a filling. Cake rolled around jam, chocolate buttercream, nuts or other fillings, is an example of a sweet roulade like the bejgli or the Swiss roll. The bûche de Noël or "Yule log" is a traditional French Christmas cake roll, often decorated with frosting made to look like bark.

Another form of non-meat roulade consists of a soufflé-type mixture baked in a flat pan rolled around a filling.

See also

• Negimaki
• Matambre