Salado Pionono: Fill and homemade dough

Tradition, flavor, and history . Three characteristics that accompany the recipe we're going to make today: a savory roll that's key to any quick and adaptable menu. Welcome to Paulina Cocina! This recipe thrills us all; an excellent, delicate, smooth, and intensely rich dish, we love it.

Today we're going to talk about this divine recipe and answer questions like how to make savory roll dough? What do we fill it with? And the most traditional savory ham and cheese roll recipe . Let's get to it!

A little about the history of salty pionono

Let's start by talking about pionono, a very traditional and natural dish from Spanish pastry.

Fun fact: In some parts of the world, this food is known by other names such as “romo gitano”, “rollo”, “brazo de reina”, “arrollado”, “rollo suizo”, “tronco” , etc. It can be found with different names, but in all cases it is the same: a thin sheet of sponge cake filled with different sweet or savory preparations.

How did your salty version come about?

If we delve into the world of salty or sweet and sour piononos, we find a dish that has the same formula as the traditional sweet pionono, but in this case, the filling changes .

The sponge cake can be filled with savory ingredients such as tomato, cooked ham, cheeses (various), olives, mayonnaise or some sauce, cooked ham, hearts of palm and more .

It's common to use chicken, tuna, or hard-boiled egg to fill the savory version of pionono, and it's served with a hearty salad ... life's pleasures. It's a dish often prepared for the end-of-year holidays or celebrations like Easter , and it's a hit.

Facing the mass of pionono

In Argentina, we're lucky (or not) to find pionono dough easily in supermarkets, right in its package, ready to fill. This is a great thing if we're short on time to cook. 

It's also a double-edged sword that could lead us to settle for this ready-made dough and not risk making our own homemade Swiss roll . Obviously, making homemade Swiss roll dough gives a very different and positive result. But buying it ready-made at the supermarket is always an option that speeds up the recipe.

Now we're going to learn how to make the Swiss roll dough . Just know that it's very easy to make; you just have to know how to handle it once it's baked and be very careful because it's quite fragile. Pay attention.

5 key tips for making a perfect roll

1. When cooking the Swiss roll dough , we must calculate and pay attention to the cooking time because if we overcook it, the dough may break when we roll it.
2. For both sweet and savory fillings , use the same amount of sugar, otherwise the sponge cake won't come together. However, if you're making savory sponge cake, it's a good idea to add a tablespoon of mustard or two tablespoons of grated cheese to the mix to accentuate the savory flavors.
3. We add a spoonful of honey to achieve a more elastic sponge cake dough.
4. If you prepare the dough a day in advance , roll it carefully while it's still warm and store it in a damp cloth until you're done. This will prevent it from drying out.
5. This last tip is for those of us who are going to buy the ready-made dough. I advise you to read the ingredients carefully beforehand, making sure that the pionono is not sweet. It has to be a savory or neutral dough, but never sweet.

Salty Pionono Recipe

How to make Swiss roll dough

1. To make this dough we need a thin baking sheet and parchment paper.
2. First, place parchment paper on the baking sheet and then grease it well so you can easily remove the sponge cake. 
3. In a bowl, place 4 eggs along with 80g of sugar and 1 tablespoon of honey. Beat this for 10 minutes with an electric mixer. Gradually add 80g of sifted flour and mix gently with a circular motion.
4. Pour the mixture onto the plate and level it so that it is evenly distributed.
5. Bake for 15 minutes in a preheated oven at 200º

Now let's get started on preparing this savory roll. If you already have the dough, the rest is done very quickly, and you'll have an excellent dish ready in 10 minutes. Good luck! 

Ingredients for the filling of a classic savory roll

• 200 gr of lettuce 
• 3 hard eggs
• 200 g of cooked ham
• 2 tomatoes
• 200 gr of cheese
• Mayonnaise, mustard
• Olives

How to make a good salty roll, step by step

1. Spread mayonnaise to taste on the cold Swiss roll dough. Place the slices of ham on top in an orderly manner, filling the entire space. Continue covering the top with sliced cheese. 
2. Chop all the vegetables into strips and the olives into halves, removing the pits.
3. Scatter the lettuce on top of the cheese. At one end of the grill, make a row of halved eggs, and on one side, place the tomatoes and olives in three parallel rows.
4. With all the ingredients spread over the Swiss roll, begin rolling it slowly and carefully so as not to tear the dough. Wrap it in parchment paper and refrigerate for 4 hours.
5. After the time has passed, decorate the cold roll with a little mustard on top and chopped hard-boiled egg.