072 / 75 · Smaller Meals and Sweet Finishes
Roast Beef and Horseradish Rye Crepe Pinwheels
4 filled rye crepes cut into 24 pieces;6 pieces/one whole crepe per serving · Active 40 min · Cook 15 min · Total 1 hr 50 min
Print recipe · PDFSoft rye crepes wrap cold roast beef, cream cheese, prepared horseradish and a little fresh spinach. A short refrigerator rest firms the rolls for cutting into pinwheels. The roast beef is already cooked before this recipe begins, and the crepes cool fully before filling. This makes four smaller meals with a clear cooked-meat storage deadline.
Rye needs a flexible partner
Medium rye flour gives the crepes an earthy flavor, while a smaller amount of wheat flour helps them bend. This is a rye-and-wheat crepe rather than a flour tortilla or a rolled slice of brittle dark bread. Rest the batter for twenty minutes so the rye can absorb liquid, then stir again before portioning. Use a broad nonstick pan and divide the entire batter into four equal portions. Tilt promptly as each portion enters the pan. A tiny pan makes a thick pancake that is harder to wrap around the measured filling.
Cold means the whole component, not the edge
Set cooked crepes on clean plates and cool them before spreading cream cheese. Put the roast beef back in the refrigerator while the crepes cook; there is no reason for cooked meat to sit beside a hot stove. Use plain lean top-round roast beef weighed after cooking and trimming visible fat. The recipe is not based on a sweet cured deli product. Spread the horseradish-cream cheese mixture thinly and evenly, then lay beef and spinach over it without a thick ridge at one edge.
Count the end pieces too
Roll each filled crepe firmly enough to hold its shape without crushing the filling. Wrap and chill for at least thirty minutes, then use a sharp clean knife to cut six pieces from each roll. The end pieces still belong to the recipe and its nutrition estimate; do not trim them away merely to make every slice look identical. One complete roll, cut or uncut, is the serving. Pack the pinwheels in a shallow cold container, with their cut faces protected from drying. They are intended to be eaten chilled, which makes proper cold transport part of the preparation.
Ingredients
- 3 1/2 oz medium rye flour (100 g)
- 1 3/4 oz all-purpose wheat flour (50 g)
- 1 cup 2%milk (240 ml; use 240 g for the estimate)
- 2 large eggs, without shells (100 g)
- 2 teaspoons olive oil (10 ml/9 g), divided
- A small pinch fine salt (1 g)
- 8 1/2 oz plain cooked lean top-round roast beef, visible fat trimmed and thinly sliced (240 g cooked edible weight)
- 3 1/2 oz plain full-fat cream cheese (100 g)
- 4 teaspoons prepared horseradish (20 g)
- 1 1/2 oz fresh baby spinach, washed, dried and finely shredded (40 g)
Set out
Kitchen scale, two bowls, measuring jug and whisk, 10 inch/25 cm nonstick crepe pan with flat cooking base at least 9 inches/23 cm, Pastry brush, broad spatula and clean cooling plates, Four food-safe wraps or lidded containers, refrigerator space and sharp knife
Allergens
Rye and wheat (gluten), Milk, Egg, Mustard (mustard variation), Check prepared horseradish for additional declared allergens.. Check labels and substitutions.
Make it
- Whisk both flours and salt in a bowl. Whisk milk, eggs and 1 teaspoon/5 ml oil in another bowl, then whisk into the flour until smooth. Rest covered for 20 minutes. Keep cooked roast beef at 40°F/4°C or below while cooking the crepes.
- Stir batter, weigh and divide into four equal portions, about 124 g each. Heat the crepe pan over medium heat. Use the remaining 1 teaspoon/5 ml oil to brush the pan lightly across all four crepes. Pour one portion into the pan and tilt promptly to cover the broad flat base. Cook for 1–2 minutes until the surface is set and underside lightly golden, turn and cook for 30–60 seconds more. Repeat and cool each crepe completely on clean plates, about 15 minutes.
- Mix cream cheese and prepared horseradish until smooth. Divide all of it over the four cold crepes, spreading thinly with a narrow clear border. Divide all roast beef and shredded spinach evenly over them. Roll each firmly without tearing, wrap and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
- Cut each roll into six equal pieces, including the end pieces. Serve six pieces per person, one complete filled crepe. Keep any waiting portions chilled rather than leaving the platter out through a long meal.
A cold smaller meal with a real end date
Label each rolled crepe with the beef's original cooking date before cutting. That makes it easier to choose an appropriate portion after training or during a work break without keeping prepared meat rolls beyond their first ingredient's safe storage window.
A useful detail
Use roast beef cooked today or yesterday and safely chilled. Its earlier roasting is excluded from the 110-minute recipe time. If cooking it yourself, whole top-round beef must first reach 145°F/63°C with at least 3 minutes rest before cooling safely. The estimate uses cooked lean roast beef, not raw weight. Oil 10 ml is split 5 ml batter and 5 ml pan.
Another way
- Replace 20 g prepared horseradish with 20 g prepared yellow mustard for a milder sharp finish; this introduces mustard.
- Replace 40 g spinach with 40 g fresh watercress leaves, washed and thoroughly dried. Variations change the estimate.
Keep it well
Keep wrapped pinwheels at 40°F/4°C or below for up to 2 days after assembly and no later than 3 days after the beef was originally cooked, whichever is sooner. Use any shorter cream-cheese opening instruction. Refrigerate promptly and never leave out for more than 2 hours, or 1 hour above 90°F/32°C. Carry with two cold sources and refrigerate on arrival. These are served cold; freezing harms the cream-cheese and leaf texture.