Last week, the Cheftestants went to visit my beloved Tottenham Hotspur’s beautiful new stadium. Of course, there could not be a worse time to actually feature the club, given that we just sacked our manager, lost our General Manager to a worldwide suspension due to alleged financial improprieties (at his former club in Italy: Juventus), and we recently were eliminated in both the English FA Cup and Champions League, losing to inferior teams…so Spursy.
On the show, the chefs had to make a tasty meal, but using some English mainstays: peas, cheese, ham and apples. Since it was also game day yesterday, I decided to make a little game-day snack. It all complemented each other and was tasty, but your friends might look at you weird if you served this up at your own party. So, while you can totally prepare these cheesy puff pastry sticks on their own, make the “mashy peas” to go along with my Fish & Chips and I think the apple-butter coated pancetta would be a great substitution for bacon in my Devils on Horseback. But here’s how I prepared the installation for this week’s challenge and you can catch the full episode over on my YouTube page.
Tottenham Cheese Twists
(Like the team, each component is good…just not together 🙁)
Cheese Twists
1 package of frozen puff pastry (2 sheets) thawed for 30-40 minutes
½ lb of English smoked cheddar, grated
1 egg yolk mixed with 1 tsp of water
1 tsp smoked paprika, divided
¼ tsp cayenne pepper, divided
4 tbsp butter, melted
Parmigiano-Reggiano
Mashy Peas
1 cup frozen peas
Olive oil
Shallot, minced
Garlic clove, minced
2 tbsp butter
Zest of 1 lemon
Fresh mint, chiffonade cut
Other
Salt, pepper, flour
Thinly shaved pancetta
Apple butter
Rolling pin and parchment paper
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees, with the racks lined in the upper-and-lower third of the oven.
On a lightly floured surface, roll out both sheets of puff pastry dough. Brush one with egg wash and cover with half of the grated cheddar, sprinkling on half of the smoked paprika and cayenne. Season with some salt and freshly cracked black pepper.
Place the other portion of puff pastry dough on top of the other and repeat the egg wash and topping/seasoning. Lightly flour a rolling pin and firmly roll the two sheets together briefly. Then, slice the dough into ½-inch thick strips. Pick up both ends and twist in opposite directions, placing the twisty roll onto a parchment-lined baking sheet. Repeat with all the cut portions.
Place the baking sheets into the oven and bake for about 20 minutes. Half-way through, rotate the sheet pans and brush on some melted butter, sprinkling all with some parmesan cheese. Once puffed and lightly toasted, remove from the oven and allow to cool on the baking sheets for about 5-10 minutes.
Meanwhile, bring a pot of salted water to a boil and dump in the peas. Cook, covered for 90 seconds, then drain and place into a bowl of ice water until fully cooled. Drain and reserve.
Then, sauté the shallot in a tablespoon of olive oil over medium heat with a pinch of salt. Once softened, add in the garlic and butter. Once the butter is melted, stir in the peas and cook for 60-90 seconds. Transfer to a mini-prep and pulse a few times until mashed, but still slightly chunky.
Transfer the processed peas to a bowl and stir in the lemon zest, mint, and some salt. Reserve.
After removing the breadsticks from the oven, place the pancetta on a parchment-lined baking sheet and bake in the oven for 5-10 minutes, until the ham has rendered its fat, but is not yet crisped.
To assemble, spread some apple butter on the pancetta and press onto the breadsticks. Serve with the mashy peas. ______________________________ Copyright 2023, Brendan McCann, All Rights Reserved.
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