If an omelette sounds fussy, then a roulade sounds downright insane for a weekend meal. Never mind the herbed mayonnaise and whatever a sauce called Gribiche might be. But we ran into Chef Cathal Armstrong of Restaurant Eve in Alexandria, Virginia on the last day of the recent Atlanta Food and Wine festival as he was putting this dish together and he made believers of us. Sauce gribiche for everyone!
This roulade is simply a rolled omelette. It’s baked off in a sheet pan, then spread with the herbed mayonnaise mixture and rolled up like a jelly roll. Pretty easy but very impressive looking. Perhaps best of all it is served cold, so there is no last minute fussing, you can prepare in advance and then dazzle your guests with your culinary prowess. Serve this with Dan’s Father’s Pisco Sour or the Tomato Water Bloody Mary from Cathal’s business partner Todd Thrasher, sommelier at Restaurant Eve and master of mixology of PX.
Ingredients
Roulade
- 5 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 6 tablespoons all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting the pan
- 1 1/4 cups whole milk, heated
- 4 large eggs, separated
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 3 tablespoons chives, chopped
- 3 ounces smoked Mackerel
Filling
- 1 cup homemade mayonnaise
- 1 egg
- 1/2 teaspoon dry mustard
- salt to taste
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 3/4 cup canola oil
- 1/2 cup cream cheese
- 4 tablespoons scallions, chopped
- 1 tablespoon dill, chopped
- 2 teaspoons lemon juice
Sauce Gribiche
- 4 hard-cooked eggs
- 2 hard-cooked egg yolks
- 1/2 tablespoon Dijon mustard
- salt to taste
- 1/2 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 cup canola
- 1 bunch fresh chervil, chopped
- 1/2 bunch fresh tarragon, chopped
- 1/4 cup capers, drained and chopped
- 1/2 cup cornichons, drained and chopped
Directions
Sauce Gribiche:
Put the whole eggs and yolks, mustard, and some salt in a large bowl and mash them well together.
To this paste, add the lemon juice and then the oil, drop by drop, as if making mayonnaise.
Finish the sauce by adding the chopped herbs, capers, and cornichons. Taste and correct the seasoning.
Roulade:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a buttered 15 by 10.25, 1 inch deep sheet tray with parchment paper. Butter the paper, dust with flour, and tap out the excess.
Melt the butter in a small saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the flour and cook, stirring, for 3 minutes. Gradually whisk in the milk.
Transfer to a large bowl and whisk in the egg yolks , one at a time. Season with salt. Beat the egg whites until soft peaks form.
Stir 1/2 of the whites into the yolk mixture and fold in the rest. Then fold in the chives and flaked mackerel.
Pour the batter into the bottom of the prepared pan and smooth gently with a metal spatula. Transfer to the oven and cook until golden and firm to the touch, about 10 minutes.
Cover the egg sponge with a buttered piece of parchment paper, buttered side down. Cover with a damp kitchen towel and invert onto a work surface. Peel off the paper from the top. Allow the Sponge to cool.
Make the mayonnaise. Beat the cream cheese until smooth and fold in the mayonnaise, scallions, dill and lemon juice.
When the sponge is cool, spread the filling and use a towel to roll it up.
Cut into 1/2 inch slices with a serrated knife. Serve with Sauce Gribiche.
