Cheese rolls are a "delicacy" from the south of the South Island and you'll rarely find them north of the Waitaki River. Apparently they're a popular fundraiser - a sports-mad colleague from Invercargill likes to tell us about how his sports teams would get together and make loads, bag them up, freeze them (untoasted), and sell them by the dozen. I can't see them being a big money spinner these days with cheese being the main ingredient but it sounds like the humble cheese roll has funded a fair few sports trips over the years.
The recipe seems to vary a little depending on whose mum or nana you receive it from. I first tried cheese rolls when Becs returned to Rotorua from her first semester at Otago Uni. She'd stayed with her friend Rachel's family in Gore and had tried Rachel's mum's cheese rolls. It uses more milk than some other recipes and uses a little cornflour to thicken the cheese mixture.
Most recipes call for evaporated milk and that's what I used. Next time I'll go back to Rachel's mum's recipe as it's less salty and I am feeling very thirsty as I write this... Before reading any further I suggest putting aside any prejudices you have towards Maggi onion soup powder and processed foods in general. These cheese rolls offer little nutritional benefit but they sure are tasty!
To make cheese rolls using the easiest possible method...
Heat a 400ml can of evaporated milk, 375g grated cheese, 1 packet of Maggi onion soup mix and 1 teaspoon of Dijon mustard until smooth.
Leave overnight in the fridge to firm up.
The next day when you want to eat them, spread white sandwich slice bread with the mixture and roll up (sort of fold into thirds). There's enough cheese mixture for about 1.5 loaves of bread so I suggest you keep on spreading until there's none left. You can freeze the untoasted rolls for another day - take them to work for lunch if you have a sandwich press or oven and give your workmates lunch envy.
Preheat the oven the 200 degrees Celsius. Line up your cheese rolls on an oven tray - cook more than you think you need! Brush with a little melted butter and bake for 10-15 minutes until golden brown on the outside and the filling is starting to ooze out the ends.
Try them with soup... or just on their own. Trust me, they're delicious!
