Truffle salt & pepper cheese straws

We’re moving to our new flat on Friday so we are currently living amongst boxes and bubblewrap and the kitchen looks like a small controlled explosion has occurred. The drawers have been emptied, the cupboards are all but bare and I am left wondering how lonesome rice grains and tea leaves have snuck unnoticed into the back of almost every drawer. One of life’s little mysteries (or my kitchen is a teensy bit dirty)…

I finally let my boyfriend pack my food mixer last night (after much resistance) but I am still holding firm on the scales. We will be fridge- and freezer-less for about 24 hours between flats and so I’ve been getting creative with my perishables. Frozen pork mince turned into pork and prawn gyoza, pizza dough was bathed in my speedy pizza tomato sauce and baked into crispy thin-based pizzas and now a pack of ready-made puff pastry is vying for my attention, desperately hoping to be noticed, like the girl who’s always picked last in gym.

Everything save the spice cupboard is packed so today we’re going simple: Buttery salt and pepper puff pastry straws stuffed with parmesan and truffle oil – British children’s party food grows up and gets a posh Italian makeover! Bursting with flavour, these savoury beauties are an absolute winner and the perfect salty accompaniment to a cheeky aperitif. Warning: Medium-high risk of over-indulgence.

Truffle salt & pepper cheese straws

Makes about 20 large straws

Ingredients:

– 375g pack ready-made puff pastry
– 60g parmesan*, grated
– 1 1/2 tablespoons good quality truffle oil (I find white is stronger than black)
– 3/4 teaspoon truffle salt
– 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

*For a vegetarian version, use a parmesan-style cheese which doesn’t contain rennet.

Method:

Preheat your oven to 200°C.

Roll out the pastry into a rectangle about 1/2cm thick. Spread 2/3 of the cheese, the truffle oil, salt and pepper onto half the pastry.

Fold the bare half over the covered half and roll out again to a just a few millimetres thick, sandwiching the filling between the pastry layers. Trim the edges, slice into 1-2cm thick strips and sprinkle the remaining cheese over the straws. If you’re feeling fancy, this is where you can twist the strips into swirls!