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Happy Boxing Day! In case you’ve not started planning your New Years Eve nibbles yet, do you mind if I drag you away from your leftover turkey and stuffing sandwiches for a moment to share an easy canapé recipe? Regular readers will know that around Christmas and New Year time I love a good cheese straw. Mummy’s recipe for Classic Cheese Straws is one of the most popular posts all year around, and I’m still rather proud of last years Parmesan & Paprika Cocktail Stars. For our guests before Easter lunch this year I made these delicious Crystallised Ginger Cheese Straws for people to enjoy as they arrived from Nadiya’s British Food Adventure and they went down a storm; I just knew an adapted version would be perfect to toast the New Year.
I’ve pictured these cheese straws with Nyetimber because (as ever) I’m on a real English Sparkling Wine kick, and it was really great to get to know the range over the summer on their terrace at Angler.However, if you want to go down the cocktail route you can’t go wrong with a Classic Champagne Cocktail or a Pomegranate & Rosemary Spritz. If you’re planning on heading outside to watch some fireworks, my Hot Toddy would also be a good shout.
Pre-heat the oven to 200 degrees (390 farenheit) and line two large baking sheets with baking parchment.
Dust a clean work surface with flour and unroll the pastry sheet. Sprinkle half the sheet with the crystallised ginger pieces, approximately half the parmesan, and a generous sprinkling of sea salt, and fold the other half of the pastry over the fillings like a book.
Using a rolling pin, roll the folded pastry flat to about the thickness of a £1 coin.
Slice the filled pastry into 2cm wide strips (I use a ruler both for measuring and to cut straight lines!) and brush the strips with beaten egg. Sprinkle over the rest of the parmesan.
Gently twist each strip a couple of times and transfer each cheese straw to the baking tray. This will be delicate work, but don’t worry if they look messy; they’ll smarten up as the pastry puffs up in the oven. If you break any also don’t worry, just pinch the break shut and keep going!
Bake the cheese straws in the oven for 10-12 minutes until they’re all puffed up and golden. Leave to cool on the baking tray or transfer to a cooling wrack before serving.
I'm a food writer, professional recipe developer and cookbook author living in the English Countryside. I love creating easy, accessable recipes filled with vibrant world flavours that are manageable on busy weeknights. Simple and delicious dinners, from my kitchen to yours!
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One Pan Pescatarian: 100 Delicious Dinners – Veggie, Vegan, Fish
My second cookbook contains 100 delicious dinner recipes, all of which are either vegetarian, vegan or which celebrate fish and seafood - all cooked in either one pot or one pan.*
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