From rich butter puff to crumbly shortcrust and crisp layered fillo, there’s a world of dishes to be made with delicious pastry. Here are some of my favourite recipes to make your own pastry and to make easy dishes using ready-made pastry sheets.
Mushroom & Cheese Pies Thanks to chef Simon Sandall who rattled off this suggestion on the spur of the moment when we were making beef Wellington together and wondering what to do with leftover mushroom duxelles and pastry off-cuts. You could always make the duxelles specifically for these pies and whip up a larger batch […]
Lotus Paste Shortbread Biscuits Cheong Liew tells me that these lotus paste shortbead biscuits are typically served with jasmine tea at the end of a Chinese banquet and, while golden lotus seed paste (lin yoong) is traditional, they can be filled with red bean (hong dou sha), black sesame (hei zhi ma xian) or any […]
Spungata (Ligurian Apricot Tart) This delicious fruit tart, called spungata in Liguria and spongata in neighbouring Emilia-Romagna, is similar to what other Italian regions call crostata. In Liguria it’s often given as a gift when visiting friends and family. Apricots are a common filling, but it’s also made with apples, pears and other fruits; the […]
Savoury Künefe I love the flavours in the pasirma börek in our Month of Turkish and am impressed by how deliciously easy the sweet kunefe is. So I wondered what would happen if we combined them. Here’s the answer: a simple, crunchy, messy, delicious savoury kunefe! Be inspired to vary the filling. As long as […]
I hate wasting pastry offcuts, so when I make a tart or pie I use the remaining pastry for these tasty little shortcrust cookies. Unlike puff pastry, shortcrust can be rerolled without ill effect, so all of it can be used. If you’re using Carême pastry and store the offcuts in the fridge for more […]
The inspiration for these delicious fillo fingers comes from my friend Janni Kyritsis, who uses the same technique to make simple savoury snacks filled with anchovy, feta and olives. I don’t have a very sweet tooth and I love the contrast of the salted butter and subtle sweetness of the icing sugar in these sweet […]
Shallot Pancakes These northern Chinese snacks are irresistibly moreish and a great way to use up the green onion tops that so often end up in the bin. The method is a simple process of rolling the dough several times to create layers that puff up slightly when cooked. The most important part is rolling […]
This simple starter is inspired by one of my favourite MG Garage entrées. I love the idea of sandwiching chopped olives between 2 sheets of fillo … and wonder what else might work in this way. Janni used to make a triple stack of the olive-studded fillo sheets with the other Ingredients sandwiched in between, […]
Olive, Feta or Anchovy Fillo Fingers Just about everything I’ve ever cooked has been inspired by something I’ve eaten before and this is no exception – my friend Janni usually whips these up to serve with drinks when friends gather at his place. They’re so simple they hardly need a recipe, and everyone’s always eagerly […]
Potato, Smoked Eel & Fontina Tart This deliciously versatile potato & fontina tart can be vegetarian, but potatoes and smoked fish are such natural partners that I sometimes add smoked eel. Hot-smoked rainbow trout also works; either way use about 300g flesh if using seafood. If Fontina’s not available, use any mild washed rind cheese, […]
