Cheese and Marmite Straws & Bryndza Cheese Straws

Before Christmas I saw a cooking show on ITV, while running on the treadmill in the gym. Even since I wanted to try this quick, easy recipe that would be perfect for unexpected guests. I never liked Marmite on a toast, but I love the Marmite coated cashew and Marmite crisps you can buy in the supermarket, so I tough to give it a go. And I was right, it was delicious. For the other half of the puff pastry I used bryndza cheese (we call it brindza in Hungary) which is made from sheep and goats milk, usually soft, spreadable, "smelly" cheese. It is also you either love it or hate it, so basically I placed two "love it or hate it" ingredients together and we loved them both.

Cheese and Marmite Straws & Bryndza Cheese Straws

Ingredients for the Marmite Straws

250g puff pastry

20 g butter, melted

1 tbsp Marmite

50 g parmesan cheese, grated

50 g mature cheddar cheese, grated

Ingredients of the Bryndza Straws

250g puff pastry

20 g butter, melted

100g bryndza cheese

50 g mature cheddar cheese, grated

Preheat the oven to 190C.

Whichever filling you choose the preparation is identical.

Roll out the puff pastry on a lightly floured surface to roughly 4 mm thick and achieve a rectangle shape. Brush the melted butter on the surface of the pastry than spread the Marmite on one half. Sprinkle  3/4 of both cheeses on the Marmite covered half, then fold the pastry over lengthways.

 Using your rolling pin compress the pastry (gently, but firmly) so you have the filling in between the pastry layer tightly. This will help retain the nice filling line when you twist the strip. Roll until the pastry is 3-4 mm thick.

With a pizza cutter, cut 1 cm wide strips and twist. Arrange on baking sheets (and chill for 10 minutes before baking-if you have the time). Spay some vegetable fat on the strips, sprinkle on the rest of the cheese and bake for 10-12 minutes, until golden brown and puffed up. 

If the strips don't want to stay twisted on the baking sheet, just lightly press down the two ends with your fingers, so the pastry "sticks" to the baking sheet.

To do the bryndza Straws just repeat the same process, but replace the Marmite with Bryndza.

Parmesan and Smoked Sausage Palmiers

This is the type of food that looks ugly, but tastes heaven. Also this starter is my usual life saver when I have to make some food for unexpected guests:) You can make your own puff pastry if you like, but personally for this recipe the shop bought puff pastry just as delicious.

Parmesan and Sausage Palmiers 

Ingredients

1 jus-roll puff pastry (500g)

4 tbsp capers

150g smoked dried sausage(we Hungarians have a great type: kolbasz) but if you don't have the Hungarian version you can use Chorizo or something similar

8-9 sun dried tomato
2 tbsp Italian/Provence herb mix
1egg
60g Parmesan cheese

Preheat the oven to 180C.

Chop the dried sausage and the sun dried tomato to small pieces and place them in a bowl. Add the capers, herb mix and some oil from the sun dried tomato(you should add about 4-6 tablespoon, as this liquid will act as a glue also your palmiers won't dry out during baking) and mix it together. 

On a lightly floured surface roll out the puff pastry to a rectangular shape until it is 4-5mm thick. Spread your mixture evenly across the puff pastry. 
Start roll the pastry from both longer ends until you meet in the middle. For instance if you have a rectangle of 30X15cm you start roll the 30cm side, meeting in the middle, so both part of the palmier have 15cm of pastry rolled in.

With a sharp knife cut them to 0.7-1cm pieces than place them on a baking sheet a few centimetres apart as they will puff up during baking. 
Cover all with egg wash than put he grated parmesan cheese on top. Bake it for 25-35 minutes or until the palmiers are golden brown.
When it is ready leave it to cool then serve immediately.
Depending on the rolling and cuts, I usually have 15-20 small palmiers.

Parmesan tartlets

I had a birthday party to cater for and I always fancied the idea of these little beauties. They easy to make, and really impressing when you have 72 of them together.

Parmesan tartlets

makes 48-72 depending how thick or thin you roll the pastry

for the dough
170g flour
75gr freshly grated Parmesan cheese
5 tbs cold butter, cubed
2 tbs cold water

Preheat the oven to 180°C.
Put the flour, grated cheese and butter into a food processor and mix until it forms breadcrumbs. Add the water and mix it again to form a ball. Put the dough ball onto a floured surface and knead it lightly into a nice ball.
Roll out really thinly and cut out the circles to fit into the mini muffin tins.
Bake it for 12-15 minutes or until golden brown. Turn them out to a cooling rack and leave it to cool.

For the filling
there are endless options what you could use, I share the 3 options I used

Egg Cream
4 eggs
80g butter at room temperature
1 ts mustard
2 tbs soured cream
1 pinch of salt
20 green leaves to decorate(can be watercress, spinach..anything)

Boil the eggs until they are hard(about 10minutes), peel them and cut them into small cubes. When the eggs are slightly cooled mix inh the butter until it is incorporated. Add the mustard, soured cream, and salt and mix it again. If you don't use it all, keep it in the fridge.
Fill 1/3 of the baskets with a teaspoon of egg cream and decorate with green leaves.

Shrimp and mango
200ml cream cheese 
200g peeled red shrimps
1chilli
1/2 mango
salt and pepper to taste

Now I have to say this was the best as the warm cram cheese softened the cases.....yummy.
Cut the mango into small cubes.
Put the cream cheese in a heavy based pan and  bring it to  boil under a medium heat.Reduce the heat and add the chilli, shrimps and a pinch of salt, pepper if needed and cook it for 3-4 minutes. When it is ready leave it to cool slightly, than fill 1/3 of the cases with a teaspoon of shrimp filling and a cube of mango.

Mozzarella,pesto and sun dried tomato
1 mozzarella ball
4 tbs green pesto
5sun dried tomatoes
salt, pepper oregano to taste

Well this is really straight forward. Cut the mozzarella  and the sun dried tomatoes to small cubes. Put 1 tea spoon of pesto, 1mozzarella cube and 1 sun dried tomato cube into the baskets, season with oregano if needed.