Tarragon-Ricotta Rolls

In contrast to many other cuisines, in Slovenia tarragon is mostly used in sweet dishes, for example, to make a filling for potica, baked pancakes, štruklji, etc. Here is a recipe for tarragon-ricotta rolls.

Recipe

Ingredients for about 15 rolls:

Dough

• 600 g flour

• 11 g instant yeast

• 120 g butter

• 90 g sugar

• 3 egg yolks

• 250 ml warm milk

• 1 tbsp rum

• zest of 1 lemon

• 1.5 tsp vanilla paste (can be substituted with vanilla essence)

• a pinch of salt

• 1 egg for the egg wash

Tarragon & Farmer's Cheese Filling

• 50 g butter at room temperature

• 500 g farmer's cheese or ricotta

• 100 g sour cream

• 100 g sugar

• 30 g cookie crumbs

• 60 g chopped fresh tarragon leaves

• 1 egg white

Instructions:

Dough

1. In a bowl, combine flour and yeast.

2. Heat the milk, sugar, and butter in a sauce pan until butter is melted.

3. Add lemon zest, rum and vanilla to the milk mixture and stir well.

4. Once the milk mixture is sufficiently cool, add the egg yolks and mix.

5. Add the milk mixture to the flour mixture and knead by hand or using a mixer until the dough is soft and elastic. It should not stick to your hands. Cover with plastic wrap and let rest in a warm place until the dough has doubled in size (about 60 minutes).

Filling

1. For the filling, mix sour cream, farmer's cheese, sugar, and cookie crumbs.

2. Beat the egg whites to stiff peaks. Slowly fold the whipped egg white into the farmer's cheese mixture. If the filling is too runny, add more cookie crumbs (see the pictures below to get an idea of what the consistency should be).

Making the Rolls

1. Heat the oven to 180 C (360 F). Place parchment paper on a baking sheet.

2. Dust the working area with flour. I usually roll out the dough on a tablecloth so it does not cool down too much during rolling.

3. Roll the dough into a 90 cm x 35 cm rectangle (or larger) about 0.5 cm thick.

4. Spread the butter in an even layer over the dough.

5. Spread the filling in an even layer over the buttered dough.

6. Sprinkle the chopped tarragon over the filling.

7. Roll up the dough by hand, stretching it slightly with each roll. Seal the ends securely by gently pulling dough down to cover the ends.
8. Cut the roll into 2 cm sections (a little less than 1 inch). You will get around 15 pieces (the exact number will depend on the thickness of the sections).
9. Flatten each section and place it on the parchment paper. The rolls should not be too close together since they will puff up before baking. Depending on the size of your baking pan, you might need to bake the rolls in batches.
10. Gently brush the rolls with an egg wash.
11. Let the rolls rise for about 30 minutes.

12. Bake the rolls for about 20 minutes until golden brown.
13. Sprinkle with powdered sugar and serve (while still warm if possible)!