I know, I know. It’s a weird name, but that’s what I call them. If you have a better suggestion, let me know!
They’re yummy little puff pastry parcels with gooey cheese, herbs and chutney inside. Like a posh, mini cheese pasty, if you will.
They make brilliant nibbles to have with drinks, or as a canapé at a Christmas or New Years Eve party, as they look good, taste fantastic and are so easy to make, even a child could do it. There’s hardly any mess, and you can even make them in advance and bake them when your guests arrive as they only take 15mins in the oven.
I’ve even used a sheet of ready rolled puff pastry, so they take no time at all to prepare, but you still get all the glory of serving something delicious and homemade.
I’ve used goats cheese and caramelised onion chutney in these, but feel free to experiment with different combinations. Brie and cranberry, cheddar and finely chopped red onion, pepper jack cheese and jalapeno and feta and pesto would work well, and you could even get a bit fancy and sprinkle poppyseeds over the top after the egg wash.
Merry Christmas everyone. Hope you have a very happy, food filled New Year. See you on the other side.
Ready in 25mins (10mins prep, 15mins bake) – makes 16
Ingredients:
- 1 sheet of ready rolled puff pastry
- 100g of goats cheese
- Caramelised onion chutney
- A good pinch of black pepper
- A good pinch of basil
- A good pinch of oregano
- 1 free-range egg, beaten
Method:
- Preheat oven to 200c / 180c fan / gas mark 6.
- Unroll the pastry on a clean surface, but don’t take it off the paper (Then you don’t need to worry about flouring the surface).
- Using a butter knife, divide the pastry into 16 rectangles by cutting down the centre of the pastry to cut it into two halves. Then cut down the centre of each half to divide it into 4. Then turn the pastry 90 degrees and repeat in the opposite direction.
- Blob a teaspoon of chutney onto each pastry rectangle, just off centre.
- Divide the goats cheese evenly between each rectangle, placing it on top of the chutney.
- Sprinkle the black pepper, basil and oregano over the whole thing.
- Using a small amount of water, wet a finger and run it along each edge of every pastry rectangle. This will help the pastry stick together.
- Then carefully fold each rectangle over on itself, folding the empty side on top of the cheese and chutney.
- Using a fork, press the edges of each parcel together and place onto a baking tray.
- Brush the tops of each parcel with the beaten egg.
- Bake for 15mins, or until the parcels golden brown and the cheese is bubbling through the pastry. Turn the baking tray 180 degrees half way through cooking to ensure an even bake.
- Rest the puffs for 5mins or so before serving. This will give the cheese time to solidify a bit and cool. They will still be hot, but won’t burn anyone’s mouth, and the cheese shouldn’t ooze out and drip down someone’s party dress as their eating.
If you liked this recipe, you should also try:
Pesky Recipes 