And puff, the magic happened
Pastries are very much like wrapped presents. They look like little golden pockets and before you bite into them, you don’t quite know what might be hidden inside. It’s filled with mystery until you get your first nibble. Moreover they are an “anything goes” kinda food: they can serve as breakfast, lunch, dinner or snack. So it’s a multitasker. I am a big fan of puff pastry, because I remember how I always used to be so amazed as a kid how this flat, unimpressive dough used to magically row in size and change it’s form in the oven and you could watch it’s transformation through the oven window. Puff… the second the heat of the oven touched the dough, the magic happened.
Servings: 8 * Preparation time: 15 min * Start to finish: 30 min
Ingredients
- 9.5 ounces/270 grams puff pastry (readymade)
- 7 ounces/200 grams ground beef
- Butter for cooking the ground beef
- 1 cup of sharp grated cheddar
- 1 generous tablespoon of tomato paste
- 1.6 ounces (50 ml) of cream
- 1 teaspoon of dry basil
- 1/4 teaspoon of thyme
- 1/4 teaspoon of paprika
- Salt and pepper to taste
Preparation
I will admit it upfront. While it is certainly possible to make the puff pastry from scratch yourself, it is a whole lot of hazzle and time-consuming. Moreover, you can get really good readymade ones, so I prefer to stick to that. Therefore the recipe focuses on the filling and not on the dough.
Cook the ground beef in a pan on medium heat, then add the basil, thyme and paprika, salt and pepper. Mix the tomato paste with the cream in a little cup and then add it to the beef as well. Let everything simmer for 2-3 minutes while stiring. Next, turn of the heat and drizzle the cheese into the pan.
Cut the puff pastry into squares (5 in/13cm). Place 2 generous tablespoons of the beef mix on one half of the pastry square. Fold the other half over it. Use a fork or your finger to seal the edges.
Bake for 15 min in the pre-heated oven at 350 degrees Fahrenheit/180 degrees Celsius.
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