Snack on these classic rolls with bell peppers and… without frying ’em!
They call these rolls by different names. But I’d like to call them Ham and Cheese Rolls. Because. It’s. Simple. Need I say more?
I came to know about this food when i was in college. I think that was the time when it became a popular menu on parties/gatherings.
So I was in a birthday party when I saw this finger-lickin’ goodness. It was love at first sight. I can’t keep myself from glancing at the table during the program to check if they are still there, my eyes aiming on potential food hoarders. As soon as the host announced it’s eating time, I grabbed the rolls first out of all the food in the table and filled a quarter of my plate with it.
It was crunchy and cheesy (and ham-y?) in every bite. It was nothing special. But there’s something in them that makes me wanna grab the whole serving plate and munch on them endlessly.
Sad to say, it seems the host doesn’t like to share the recipe. But she was kind enough to tell me that it was made of ham and cheese.
What I did was I ate as many as I can… in discreet mode (I’m a shy person believe me). The host was very pleased to see me enjoying the rolls. She wasn’t aware that I was also crackin’ my brain to decode her specialty.
So I made these rolls today because I have some left over ham and cheese from the pizza cupcakes I made last time (whut?)
The “original” rolls are simply made of bread, ham and cheese only. But this time I’m going to add my favorite green bell peppers!
From what I’ve heard, the original recipe indicates that the rolls should be deep-fried. But it soaks up too much oil. I baked them and turned out great, but that was 4 years ago. So I made them again today and wrote the recipe.
This is not the original recipe. I never got the chance to ask the host again. And nobody else told me. But this is very close to the one I had for the first time. Ahhh… nostalgia…
Purely fan-made (pun it is).
Ham & Cheese Roll Ups
Ingredients
- 8 pieces white bread
- 8 pieces ham
- 16 strips of cheese
- 1 large green bell pepper cut into strips
- 1 egg
- 1/4 cup milk
- 1 cup 70g panko bread crumbs
- vegetable oil cooking oil, or cooking spray
Instructions
- Place panko on a plate.
- Beat egg in a medium bowl or deep dish, add milk and mix well. Set aside.
- Preheat oven to 350F degrees. Line baking tray or cookie sheet with foil. Brush lined tray with oil or spray with cooking spray.
- Flatten bread using a rolling pin or drinking glass. To make the process faster, I did mine by sandwiching batches of bread between two plates like I did with my pizza cupcakes.
- Place 1 piece of ham on top of the flattened bread, overhanging on the side near you. This way, it will be easier to roll them up and seal them. See 2nd picture above for visuals.
- Place 2 strips of cheese and 3 to 4 strips of bell pepper.
- Carefully roll the bread. Squeeze it gently while preventing the cheese and bell peppers from popping out from the sides. This is to get rid of the gap inside which will turn into a hole when you bake it later. Dip into egg-milk mixture. Coat with panko then gently squeeze it again to seal the ends. Arrange on the lined tray with ends/seal facing down.
- Coat the rolls with oil by spraying with cooking spray or rolling them in the oiled tray. It is very important to coat the panko with oil to avoid it from staying (and tasting) raw.
- Bake for 15 minutes. Flip them over and bake for 10 minutes. Flip them again and broil for another 3 minutes. Pat the rolls with spoon to check if outsides are crisp. If not, bake for a few more minutes, watching carefully to prevent them from getting too brown.
- Transfer to a plate lined with paper towels and let it cool a bit. When they are cool enough to handle, slice them diagonally or into bite-size pieces. Serve with garlic-mayo dip.
