ZOLTAN

One of my workers was named Zoltan. Although Zoltan was his first name, he was called "Joe" but I had seen Zoltan on his check. One day I asked him, "Did your parents escape the Revolution or were you born there?" He looked amazed. He answered, "You KNOW about the Revolution?" I said, "Of course, why wouldn't I?" He said, "You're the first person who ever even knew that Zoltan is Hungarian, let alone know enough to discuss the Revolution." I said, "Well, I'm a lover of history but that was current events when I was a girl!" He asked, "How OLD are you?"

I told him that I remembered the horrific images of the Russian tanks going into Hungary and about Cardinal Mindszenty having asylum at the American Embassy. He said, "I'm named after the Cardinal!" I said, "So that's where Joe comes from!" He said, "I can't wait to tell my dad that you know the Cardinal's name!" Joe said that he was born in Hungary but his family was able to escape and they had relatives in the United States.

He couldn't believe that I knew about Hungarian food; I told him that I loved roulades. Several days later he brought delicious fruit roulades which his mother had made for me. I wish I had gotten her recipe! The roulades I was referring to were meat roulades, but I didn't tell him!

Sometimes I'm embarrassed by my knowledge of trivia and I didn't want to tell Joe that the reason I knew that Zoltan is Hungarian was because Jayne Mansfield's son is named Zoltan and her husband Mickey Hargitay was Hungarian!


Raspberry Meringue Roulade

This delicious dessert is rather like a rolled-up pavlova, and will make a fabulous finale to any mealtime. It's simple to make and extremely versatile because it can be filled with any fruits of your choice.

Serves: 8

Ingredients
5 large egg whites
150g caster sugar
2tsp cornflour, sieved
Icing sugar, to dust
1 x 284ml pot Waitrose Double Cream
250g raspberries

Method
Preheat the oven to 150°C, gas mark 2. Line a 33x28cm Swiss roll tin with baking or silicone paper, leaving a 5cm overhang.
Whisk the egg whites until stiff, then gradually whisk in the caster sugar, a little at a time, until the meringue mixture is stiff and glossy. Whisk in the cornflour.
Turn the mixture into the prepared Swiss roll tin using a palette knife or spatula and spread it evenly to the edges. Cook for 1 hour, then cool in the tin.
Turn the meringue out onto a sheet of greaseproof paper sprinkled with sieved icing sugar and peel off the baking paper.
Lightly whip the cream to soft peaks and spread over the meringue, leaving a border of about 2.5cm on the long side farthest away from you.
Scatter the raspberries evenly over the cream, then carefully roll up. Place the roulade on a serving plate, join-side down. Serve sliced, with extra fruit arranged around it or a raspberry sauce.