Cheese Roll

Ingredients

Filling

• 1 packet(about 30 g) onion soup mix
• 300 mlevaporated milk
• 250 gtasty cheddar, grated
• 1 tspWorcestershire sauce
• 1 tspmustard powder (optional)

To assemble

• 12 slicessoft white sandwich bread, crusts on
• 80 gbutter, softened, for spreading

Directions

1. Warm the evaporated milk and the onion soup mix together in a small pan over low heat, whisking, until the mix has dissolved and the liquid thickens to a spreadable paste — 4–5 minutes. Do not let it boil hard or it will split.
2. Take it off the heat and stir in the grated cheese, Worcestershire and mustard. The residual heat should melt the cheese into a thick, gluey mixture. Let it cool for 10 minutes; hot filling soaks straight through the bread.
3. Flatten each slice of bread with a rolling pin. This is what stops the roll unravelling and lets it toast evenly.
4. Spread a generous line of filling across each slice and roll it up firmly, keeping it tight. Sit them seam-side down.
5. Butter the outside of each roll all over and grill them under a hot grill, or in a sandwich press, turning until browned on all sides and the filling is bubbling out of the ends — about 6–8 minutes.
6. Serve hot, with extra butter, while the outside is still crisp.

Technique

• The filling must be cool and thick before it goes on the bread. Warm filling makes a soggy roll that comes apart in the grill.
• Southland cooks argue about the soup mix, and the packet is genuinely the traditional ingredient rather than a shortcut — the dish grew up around it.

Substitutions

• Any strong cheddar works; mild cheese gives a bland roll.
• Ordinary milk can replace evaporated, but reduce it further so the filling is thick.

Variations

• A Southland fundraising staple since at least the 1930s, nicknamed southern sushi. Some recipes add a spoonful of grated onion to the filling.

History

A Southland fundraising staple since at least the 1930s, nicknamed southern sushi and cooked under the grill until the onion sauce bubbles.

Frequently asked questions

What is Cheese Roll?

Cheese Roll is a snack from New Zealand: southland toasted bread roll filled with cheesy onion sauce, ‘southern sushi’. A Southland fundraising staple since at least the 1930s, nicknamed southern sushi and cooked under the grill until the onion sauce bubbles.

How long does Cheese Roll take to make?

Cheese Roll takes 20 min of preparation and 15 min of cooking. The recipe makes makes 12. It is rated easy to make.

What can I substitute in Cheese Roll?

Yes, within limits. Any strong cheddar works; mild cheese gives a bland roll. Ordinary milk can replace evaporated, but reduce it further so the filling is thick.

What is the most important thing to get right in Cheese Roll?

Warm the evaporated milk and the onion soup mix together in a small pan over low heat, whisking, until the mix has dissolved and the liquid thickens to a spreadable paste — 4–5 minutes. Do not let it boil hard or it will split.