Palmiers

Palmiers are a delicious little nibble that are perfect for a lighter option for a starter prior to a rich meal. I happened to serve these prior to just such a meal last weekend.  They are also great as a canape or for nibbles with wine.

I first had these at a hotel near Calais as an amuse bouche prior to our meal. Those were rather smaller but the essential elements remain the same, if you did want them smaller then simply cut the rolled pastry in half to make two smaller rectangles and proceed the same way.

You can vary the fillings as you prefer to use pesto, a different cheese, sundried tomatoes, proscuitto, whatever takes your fancy!

Makes ~24

500g puff pastry
100g cheddar or other filling
1 small egg, beaten

– Roll the pastry out to a large rectangle, about the thickness of a pound coin.  Feel free to bash it about a bit.  It’s ok to be rough with it in this case as we don’t actually want it to puff up too much.
– Scatter the rectangle with cheese (or other filling).
– Then take the shorter ends of the pastry and roll them tightly towards the middle.
– Where the two rolls will meet in the middle, brush with the beaten egg to stick them together.
– Wrap the roll in clingfilm and place in the freezer for at least 40 minutes.
– When you want to cook them heat the oven to gas mark 7/220C and take the roll from the freezer.
– Slice into slices no more than 5mm thick and place on a lined baking tray.
– Brush with the remaining egg wash.
– Bake for 10-15 minutes until golden brown.  If any bits puff up, poke them back down.
– Serve warm from the oven. (They can be put on a plate and kept in a warm oven for quite a while.)

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