Cuisine – Page 9 – Mamma wears Prada

One of many nights when I could not find any decent program on tv, I decided to check what BBC iplayer had to offer and surprisingly enough there was a new episode of a cooking program. I found this easy recipe that looks good as a starter and it’s perfect for a quick snack.

First of all the ingredients. Most of these are products that you probably (at least I do) have always in your fridge:

1 x 375g puff pastry (I always keep one or two packet in my freezer)
plain flour for dusting
1 tbsp English mustard
100g of grated cheese
14 slices good-quality streaky bacon (the last time I actually used some smoked ham from the black forest YUMMY)
1 free-range lightly beaten

Once you have got all your ingredients on the table (I like to prepare everything in front of me so I don’t forget anything that later I have to grab with floury hands), here is what you have to do:

Line a baking tray with greaseproof paper.
I use already rolled pastry but if you by the square one just roll it out on a lightly floured work surface to a large rectangle, it should be around 0.5cm thick
spread some mustard over the pastry, sprinkle with some cheese ( I personally use grated parmesan but cheddar cheese will do). Place the pieces of bacon onto the pastry and remember to leave a small gap between each piece so you can cut the pastry in between the slices.
Gently twist each piece of pastry 4-5 times so it looks like a curly straw, then place them on the baking tray.
Repeat the process until you use all the bacon. Put the twists in the fridge for 15-20 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 220C/425F/Gas 7.
Remove the twists from the fridge and brush them with the beaten egg.
Reduce the oven to 200C/400F/Gas 6 and bake the “magic wands” for 20-25 minutes, or until the pastry is well risen and golden-brown. Then remove them from the oven and leave it to cool.

Beatrice loves them and although every time I think I baked too many of them (being Italian I tend to prepare food for 6 when I have only 2 guests!) none is left in the plate!

Then if you want you can change the “filling” with whatever ingredient you prefer. Rather than mustard you can brush the pastry with some pesto and just sprinkle some parmesan on top, or you can add some grilled vegetables like thinly sliced courgette!

Promise they will be a success on your table!