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PUFF PASTRY
PUFF PASTRY
This is the richest of all pastries and benefits from being made the day before use.
Ingredients:
450g cake flour
Pinch salt
450g firm butter or margarine
250ml cold water with a squeeze of lemon juice (approximate)
Method:
- Mix the flour and salt together. Place butte on a place and work with a knife until soft. Rub a small knob of butter into the flour.
- Add water and lemon juice to form a fairly soft, elastic dough.
- Knead lightly on a floured surface until smooth
- Form the rest of the butter into an oblong, see “cook’s tip”. Roll pastry into a square.
- Place the block of butter on one half of the square, fold other half of pastry over it. Seal edges. Turn the pastry so the fold is on one side, then roll out a strip three times longer that it is wide. Fold the bottom third up and the top third down and seal edges.
- Cover pastry with greaseproof paper and leave to rest in a cool place for approximately 20 minutes.
- Turn the pastry so that the folds are to the sides and roll, fold and rest as before until this has been done about six times altogether. After final resting, shape pastry as required. Bake at 230C
Cook’s Tip:
- To form the block of butter into an oblong, roll out butter between two sheets of greaseproof paper.
- Always take care to roll out the pastry away from you and do not break the air bubbles that will rise.
- Ensure the butter used is cold and hard, if necessary chill for 20 minutes after dividing into four portions.
- If the butter comes through the pastry and sticks to the surface put the mixture back in the fridge to harden as the butter has become too soft with rolling and handling.
- If the pastry rises unevenly, it may be due to the pastry being badly rolled and folded. When rolling keep sides straight and always fold into a true oblong.
MINI SAUSAGE ROLLS
This is a firm favourite in my house at anytime. So easy to prepare. I usually make a batch to freeze, so there is always something to cook when unexpected quests arrive or whenever the kids feel like nibbling.
MINI SAUSAGE ROLLS
Makes 16
Ingredients:
500g ready-made puff pastry
Flour for dusting
1 egg, beaten
8 good quality sausages cut into two
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Small handful fresh thyme leaves
Method:
Preheat the oven to 200C
Roll the pastry out on a floured surface to a rectangle of about 48x32cm.
Cut the large rectangle in half lengthways, then cut both smaller rectangles into eight equal sections. You now have 16 rectangles in total. Brush one end of each rectangle with a little of the beaten egg, lay a piece of sausage at the other end, then season the sausage with salt and freshly ground black pepper and sprinkle with thyme leaves. Roll the sausage up in the pastry to enclose and repeat with all the sausages. Put the sausage rolls in the fridge for 20 minutes for the pastry to harden.
Once the pastry is hard, remove the sausage rolls from the fridge and score the tops with a sharp knife for decoration, or prick with a fork. Brush well all over with the rest of the beaten egg and bake in the oven for 25–30 minutes, or until the pastry has turned golden-brown and looks crisp. Remove from the oven and leave to cool slightly before serving.
Variation:
Use viennas (Frankfurters) instead of the sausage
MINCED MEAT PIES
MINCE PIES
Fills about 40 – 50 pies
Ingredients:
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 large onion, finely chopped
500g lean minced meat, washed and drained
Salt and pepper to taste
3 cloves garlic, crushed
5 cloves
30g sago soaked in half a cup of water. (You may use more sago for a thicker texture filling, personally I don’t like using a lot of sago)
Water as needed
Puff pastry
METHOD:
Heat the oil in a medium frying pan over medium heat. Add onion and garlic and cook, for 2 minutes or until onion softens. Add the mince, cloves, salt and pepper and cook, stirring with a wooden spoon to break up any lumps. Cook for 10 minutes. Add water if required.
Meanwhile soak the sago in the water for approximately 15 minutes or until sago is transparent. Add to the mince and cook until combined and the mince have thickened. Remove from heat and set aside to cool.
Preheat oven to 200C. Cut circles from rolled out puff pastry sheets. Line mini muffin pans or use a flat baking tray with the circles. Spoon a teaspoon mince mixture into the centre of the pastry. Top each pie with another pastry circle and seal edges. Brush tops with beaten egg.
Bake in oven for 20 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from oven and set aside in the pans for minutes to cool.
COOK’s TIP:
Remove cloves before filling pastry cases.
You can freeze these pies for up to 1 month. Bake straight from frozen.
Cape Malay Cooking & Other Delights - Salwaa Smith 
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