~631 cal · 26g protein · 48g carbs · 37g fat (estimated, per serving)
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Golden toasted cheese rolls on a plate with butter
🇳🇿 Southland
Below a certain line on the South Island, the cheese roll is identity: church fundraisers sell them by the thousand and every family defends its filling recipe. Elsewhere in New Zealand they’re a curiosity; in Southland, a birthright with butter.
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Toggle a diet and the ingredients rewrite themselves with regional substitutes.
🥕 Vegetarian
🌱 Vegan
🌾 Gluten-Free
🥛 Dairy-Free
🥜 Nut-Free
🥚 Egg-Free
Ingredients
Serves 4 —
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12 slices sandwich bread, crusts on
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2.5 cups sharp cheddar, grated
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2/3 cup evaporated milk
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1/2 onion, very finely minced (or onion soup mix, the classic)
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1/2 tsp mustard powder
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4 tbsp butter, for brushing
Instructions
1
Warm the evaporated milk with the onion and mustard powder; stir in the cheese off the heat until thick and spreadable. Cool.
2
Flatten each bread slice lightly with a rolling pin so it rolls without cracking.
3
Spread filling edge to edge and roll each slice into a snug cylinder, seam down.
4
Toast under a grill or in a hot oven, turning, until golden on all sides, 10–12 minutes.
5
Brush generously with butter and serve hot — with soup, or with nothing at all, Southland-style.
Southland fundraiser tradition.
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🌏 While it simmers — know your destination
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Southland. The deep south, famous for its cheese rolls — "southern sushi."
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New Zealand. Aotearoa — Māori earth ovens and kūmara fields.
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Oceania. Island kitchens where coconut and the sea rule.
The story behind this dish is up top — worth a read while the pot works.
👩🍳
Richard Moore & Kelsey Tucker
Recipes cooked, tested, and researched by the creators of Spin the Globe. How we build our recipes →
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