A roulade is a dish of filled rolled meat or pastry. Roulade can be savory or sweet. Swiss roll is an example of a sweet roulade. Traditionally found in various European cuisines, the term roulade originates from the French word "rouler", meaning "to roll".
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 sliced into rounds and served. Of this common form, there are several notable dishes:
Paupiette, French veal roulade filled with vegetables, fruits or sweetmeats
Španělské ptáčky 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 long, served whole with a side dish of rice or Czech style bread dumplings.
Szüz tekercsek, in Hungary a dish filled with minced meat.
Rollade, in the Netherlands. Most 'rollades' are made from rolled pork. A typical Dutch 'rollade' is not filled. Common spices are pepper, salt and nutmeg.
Involtini
In Italian cuisine, roulades are known as Involtini. Involtini can be thin slices of beef, pork, or chicken rolled with a filling of grated cheese, sometimes egg to give consistency and some combination of additional ingredients such as bread crumbs, other cheeses, minced prosciutto, ham or Italian sausage, mushrooms, onions, garlic, spinach, pinoli, etc. Involtini means "little bundles". Each involtino is held together by a wooden toothpick, and the dish is usually served as a second course. When cooked in tomato sauce, the sauce itself is used to toss the pasta for the first course, giving a consistent taste to the whole meal. In southern parts of Italy such as Sicily, where fish are a more plentiful element of cuisine, involtini can sometimes be made with fish such as swordfish. This term encompasses dishes like Braciole and saltimbocca.
Pastry
Some roulades consist of 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.
