Cheese and Red Pepper Roulade with Herb Sauce

Roulade base ingredients:

butter and grated Parmesan for coating

1/4 cup cottage cheese

2/3 cup half and half

4 eggs, separated

1 cup Gruyère cheese, grated

salt and black pepper

Roulade filling ingredients:

4 large red peppers

1/2 cup cottage cheese

Herb Sauce ingredients:

4 Tbsp finely chopped herbs (I used basil, cilantro, and green onion)

1 cup Greek style plain yogurt

salt and pepper, if desired

Directions:

1. Line a 9 x 13 inch baking dish with waxed paper. Grease the paper with butter and sprinkle with grated Parmesan.

2. In a large bowl, mix 1/4 cup cottage cheese and half and half until smooth.

3. Beat in egg yolks then stir in grated Gruyère.

4. In a separate bowl, beat egg whites until stiff. Fold egg whites into cheese mixture. Add salt and pepper to taste.

5. Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.

6. Cut bell peppers into quarters; remove seeds and core.

7. Pour cheese and egg mixture into prepared pan. Bake until risen and firm in center. (12-15 minutes)

8. At the same time, put bell peppers in broiler until skin is black and blistered.

9. Place a piece of waxed paper this size of the roulade next to the oven. Sprinkle paper with Parmesan cheese.

10. Remove roulade from oven and place it upside down on waxed paper. Remove waxed paper used to line pan from the top of the roulade. Let cool.

11. Using a knife and your fingers, gently peel the skin from the bell peppers.

12. Spread cottage cheese over the roulade base, leaving a 1/2 inch border on all sides.

13. Cover with red peppers.

14. Roll up the roulade.

15. Place the roulade with the seam on the bottom so it cannot unroll.

16. In a small bowl, mix yogurt and fresh herbs.

17. Spread some herb sauce on a plate and place a slice of roulade on top of it. Serve immediately.

This was a nice summery meal. By letting the base and the peppers all cool down, the dish is cold when you eat it, and the sauce is cool and refreshing. We ate the leftovers the next day straight out of the fridge, which was great because we didn't have to turn on the oven or stove, which makes the kitchen unbearably hot.

My roulade didn't turn out as pretty and thick as the picture in my cookbook. Significant other thought I said to add the egg whites when I said to add the egg yolks, so our egg whites got added too soon, before we'd whipped them stiff. It didn't matter, because it still tasted delicious. As I was eating it I said, "I love this! This combines all my favorite things: eggs, cheese, and herbs!" But I claim that a lot of ingredients are my favorites, so those three things don't make up my entire list of favorite foods. I think I was just really enjoying this meal.