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Balsamic Onion Pastries Recipe

Oh, I love puff pastry. I know I could make it, but I really love having a few boxes of it in the fridge because it makes the whole ‘quick dinner’ thing really easy.

Balsamic Onion Pastries

To make these pastries, cut the raw product into squares, then once the filling is in take the corners and fold them to the centre. Don’t press them down just leave them loose and pop some filling on top. That way the filling is inside and outside. Lovely.

Balsamic Onion Pastries Recipe
Recipe Type: Snack, Pastry
Author: Luschka
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Serves: 8
A pretty forgiving recipe, and while beginning to end it’ll take about an hour, your hands on time is very little, especially if you’re using a bought or premade puff pastry.
Ingredients
  • 1 Portion of puff pastry
  • 600 grams onions
  • 20 grams olive oil
  • 40 grams balsamic vinegar
  • 75 grams brown sugar
Instructions
  1. Roll out your pastry into a large square
  2. Cut into 8 squares
  3. Peel the onions and chop 3 seconds speed 5
  4. Add olive oil, balsamic vinegar and brown sugar
  5. Cook for 30 minutes, Varoma Speed 1 with measuring cup off.
  6. Spoon onto the pastry squares and fold the corners in towards each other. Add a tablespoon of the caramelised onion to the centre of the folded pastry.
  7. Bake for 20-30 minutes at 180C

 

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Puff Pastry Cheese Sticks Recipe

It’s that time of year where I start thinking about snack box fillers for days out, picnics and camping weekends, and one snack type that we all like is a puff pastry cheese stick. Now, you can buy these pretty cheaply, but they’ve been in a box for weeks and have an almost human-lifespan shelf life, in some cases! They are so quick to make, and they are delicious. Kept in an airtight container they also last well – if you hide them away so no one can eat them, that is.

Cheese Twists

Now, I’d like to be all pious and tell you I made the pastry myself, and for budget reasons, I’d make large batches, but actually when I’m doing quick snacks, bought pastry is perfect. If you buy a roll of pastry, go for the most expensive one you can find. An all-butter pastry is delicious, whereas the cheaper ones with oil can have a bitter after taste.

You can vary and adapt the filling to your heart’s desire. Remember a lot of it will fall out when you’re twisting, so make sure to have a bowl or something you can ‘mess’ into so you can reuse it again.

Tip: It’s also useful to fill and slice the pastry on the tray you’ll put in the oven. It just cuts down on the spillage.
Cheese Twists

For this recipe I’ve used parmesan and smoked paprika. You can also use a combination of herbs, and a melting cheese. Great flavour combinations are:

  • Cheddar and chives
  • Parmesan, rosemary & thyme
  • Cheddar & Onion Salt
  • Parmesan and Smoked Paprika
Puff Pastry Cheese Sticks Recipe
Recipe Type: Snacks, Picnic, Lunch box
Author: Luschka
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Serves: 12
Ingredients
  • 1 Roll Puff Pastry
  • 40g Parmesan Cheese
  • 2 tsp Smoked Paprika
Instructions
  1. Roll out puff pastry
  2. In the Thermomix (or using a cheese grater) finely chop the parmesan (speed 10, 30 seconds) and add the seasoning – in this case smoked paprika. Mix speed 5 for a couple of seconds to combine.
  3. Sprinkle the cheese mixture over one half of the puff pastry, then fold the unsprinkled side over the sprinkled side so that it covers itself completely (like folding a page in half, basically!)
  4. Use a sharp knife to cut slits through from one side to the other, about 10 -12 all in.
  5. Take an end in each hand and twist in opposite directions and place on a baking tray.
  6. Bake at 180C for 20 – 30 mins till it’s golden brown and delicious