All butter puff pastry, two cheeses, and a jar of Chilli Crunch laminated between the layers so every straw bakes with a red ripple spiralling up it. Lift the solids out of the jar and leave most of the oil behind. Oil is the one thing that stops puff pastry puffing. Put them near people and count to sixty.
35 mins. Makes about 20.
Ingredients
- 2 sheets All butter puff pastry, thawed but still cold
- 2 dessertspoons Plateit Chilli Crunch, drained of most of its oil
- 100g Sharp cheddar, finely grated
- 40g Parmesan, finely grated
- 1 Egg, beaten
- Flaky salt, a pinch
Method
- Oven to 200C. Line two trays with baking paper.
- Spoon the Plateit Chilli Crunch against the side of the jar and let the oil run back off the spoon. You want the crisp bits and the chilli, not the oil.
- Spread the drained crunch thinly over one pastry sheet, edge to edge. Both cheeses scattered over the top.
- Second sheet on top. Press down hard with a rolling pin, then roll once in each direction so the two sheets bond into one.
- Cut into 2cm strips. Take each strip by both ends and twist in opposite directions, four or five full turns, so the ripple spirals along the length.
- Lay them on the trays and press both ends flat onto the paper so they hold the twist. Egg wash, flaky salt.
- Bake 15 to 18 mins until deep gold and crisp right through. Cool 5 mins so they set. Stack them like firewood.
Do this: All butter pastry, nothing else. This recipe is mostly pastry, and the vegetable fat versions bake pale and taste of very little.
Tip: Press the twisted ends down onto the tray. Loose ends unwind in the oven and you get a flat straw instead of a spiral.
Swap it: Same twist with Plateit Italian Chilli Crunch and the parmesan doubled reads like an aperitivo bar snack.
