Appears in Chef John Besh’s cookbook, Cooking From the Heart: My Favorite Lessons Learned Along the Way. Read our review.
Impromptu hors d’oeuvres depend on good-quality, frozen puff pastry dough; always keep some in your freezer. It’s so easy to turn a sheet of pastry into paillettes (cheese straws) in many shapes and flavors. Slice, bake, and voila! A salty crusty nibble.
Yield: 8–10 servings
Ingredients:
1 sheet puff pastry dough, defrosted
1 egg
2 tbsp. milk
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, finely grated
2–3 pinches cayenne pepper
Method:
- Preheat the oven to 375° F.
- Lay the pastry on a lightly floured surface. Lightly beat the egg with the milk and, with a pastry brush, coat the dough with the egg mixture. Dust with the Parmesan and cayenne.
- Roll the dough into a jelly roll cylinder and slice into pinwheels about 1⁄4-inch thick.
- Lay them on a baking pan and bake until golden brown, 15 to 20 minutes.
Note: Top your paillettes with this delicious tapenade from Chef Besh!
