Leek and Lentil Soup
This recipe makes use of the whole vegetables and strips the ham hock of its meat. A hearty soup to eat right away or freeze for another time.
Tasty Cheese Straws
Turn your leftover puff pastry into these moreish cheese straws. They make a great party snack and you can use a range of flavourings depending on what you have to hand.
Don’t lose track while you’re cooking, click on an ingredient or step to tick it off so you know where you are up to.
Ingredients
- Leftover puff pastry (as much as you have)
- Hard cheese eg tasty or cheddar (quantity depends on how much pastry you have)
- Parmesan cheese (optional)
- Pinch of cayenne pepper
- 1 egg, beaten
- Optional extras: marmite, mustard, pesto, herbs
Method
- Preheat the oven to 220°C and line a large tray with baking paper.
- Roll out your puff pastry into a rectangle a few millimetres thick. (If using marmite, mustard, pesto or any type of spread, brush the sheet with a very thin layer at this point otherwise brush the pastry with beaten egg instead.)
- Grate over a thin layer of cheese, making sure you don’t leave the edges bare. Season with a little salt and black pepper and sprinkle with cayenne pepper if you like. (At this point add any other herbs, seasonings, spices etc).
- Use your rolling pin to gently press the cheese onto the pastry to keep it stuck down. Cut the pastry into strips about 1.5 cm wide.
- Take the strips at both ends and twist into a spiral and place on the tray, squashing the ends onto the tray to help them stick and hold their shape.
- Brush any exposed pastry with beaten egg and bake for about 15 minutes, checking now and again, until golden.