Herby puff twists and pepper and goats’ cheese palmiers
If you are short of time use readymade puff pastry and these canapés can be ready in a flash.
Ingredients
For the puff pastry
- 500g/1lb 2oz plain flour, plus extra for dusting
- 1 tsp fine sea salt
- 50²µ/1¾´Ç³ú butter, melted
- 400g/14oz very cold unsalted butter
- 1 free-range egg, beaten, for egg wash
For the herby puff twists
- 1 tbsp finely chopped fresh rosemary
- 1 tbsp finely chopped fresh thyme
- 1 tbsp finely chopped fresh sage
- 50²µ/1¾´Ç³ú fine breadcrumbs
- freshly ground black pepper
- ½ unwaxed lemon, zest only
For the pepper and goats’ cheese palmiers
- 100g/3½oz roasted red peppers from a jar, drained, finely chopped
- 140g/5oz hard goats' cheese, finely grated
Method
For the pastry, sift the flour into a large mixing bowl and make a well in the centre. Add the salt, 225ml/8fl oz ice-cold water and melted butter into the middle of the well. Using your fingertips, gradually stir the liquid and incorporate the flour. Once the mix has come together into a dough, knead it a few times firmly to bring it into a ball. Wrap it in cling film and chill for 10 minutes in the freezer.
Remove the butter from the fridge and place it in between two sheets of greaseproof paper. Use a rolling pin to beat the butter block into a 19cm/7½ in square. Chill in the freezer for 10 minutes.
Remove the dough from the freezer and tip onto a lightly floured surface. Roll out the dough into a diamond shape that is a bit larger than the size of the butter block. Place the butter in the centre of the dough (with the flat sides of the block facing the points of the diamond) and pull the flaps over the top and pinch to seal them.
Roll the pastry away from you into a rectangle that is 75x30cm/30x12in. Move the pastry frequently to prevent sticking and work quickly to avoid heating the dough.
To make a letter turn, place the rolled out dough on the surface with the short side nearest to you. Pull the top third of dough down over the middle third then lift the bottom third over the folded portion, just like an A4 letter. Make sure the edges match up and are square. Dust off any excess flour with a pastry brush. Place the dough in a freezer bag and place in the freezer for 10 minutes. This is the first turn. Take note of the number of turns that has been performed at each stage.
Repeat the rolling, folding and turning four more times to give five letter turns in total. Split the dough into two equal portions and refrigerate until ready to use.
Preheat the oven to 210C/190C Fan/Gas 6½. Line two baking trays with baking paper.
For the herby puff twists, mix the herbs in a small bowl with the breadcrumbs, pepper and lemon zest and stir to combine.
Roll one piece of the pastry out on a lightly floured surface to roughly 40x30cm/16x12in with the short side nearest you. It should be the thickness of a pound coin. Brush egg wash over the pastry then liberally sprinkle the herb mix over the dough. Press the filling lightly into the dough all over using a rolling pin.
Tightly roll the bottom two-thirds of the dough up like a Swiss roll so the filling is on the inside. For the last third, roll it underneath itself in the opposite direction so the filling is on the outside.
Place the roll onto a baking tray, slide into a large freezer bag and freeze for 10 minutes.
Use a sharp knife to cut off any ragged ends then cut into 1cm/½in slices and lay them flat on one of the prepared trays, leaving at least 5cm/2in between each as they will spread during baking.
Bake for 11 minutes, flip them over and bake for a further 11 minutes until golden-brown and puffed up. Transfer to a cooling rack.
For the pepper and goats’ cheese palmiers, roll one piece of the puff pastry out on a lightly floured surface to roughly 40x30cm/16x12in with the short side facing you. Spread the goats’ cheese and peppers over the pastry. Press the filling lightly into the dough all over using a lightly oiled rolling pin.
Fold the bottom sixth of dough upwards and press down, then repeat this fold once more upward and you should be near the midpoint of the dough. Repeat this double fold for the top of the pastry coming down. Lightly brush some beaten egg along the top of the folded portions, then fold these together like a book. All the topping should be on the inside.
Place the roll onto a baking tray, slide into a large freezer bag and freeze for 10 minutes.
Use a sharp knife to cut off any ragged ends then cut 1cm/½in slices and lay them flat on the preapred tray. Clean the knife using kitchen paper between each slice. Leave at least 5cm/2in between each as they will spread during baking.
Bake for 11 minutes then flip and bake for a further 11 minutes until golden-brown and puffed up. Transfer to a cooling rack.
