Herbed Cheesy Puff Pastry Bacon Straws Recipes

LORRAINE'S BACON-CHEDDAR STRAWS

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
• On a lightly floured work surface, roll the puff pastry into a large rectangle, 1/4-inch-thick.
• Rotate the pastry so that the longer side is facing you. Spread the mustard evenly over the pastry. Lay the bacon slices on the pastry, long side facing you, leaving a small gap in between each slice. Trim any messy edges that spill over the puff pastry, to neaten the rectangle into a straighter edge. Sprinkle the Cheddar over the bacon. Cut in between each slice to form individual pastry-bacon strips.
• Carefully twist each strip 4 or 5 times, so it looks like a curly straw. Place on the prepared baking sheet and brush with beaten egg. Chill in the fridge for 15 to 20 minutes.
• Remove the twists from the fridge and brush a second time with beaten egg. Bake until the pastry is well risen and golden-brown, 15 to 20 minutes. Set aside to cool.

BACON AND CHEESE STRAWS

Steps:

• Lightly grease a large baking tray with a little oil or line with greaseproof paper.
• Lay out the ready rolled pastry on a floured surface, sprinkle the cheese all over the pastry and fold in half.
• Roll out the pastry to roughly 25 x 40cm (10 x 16 inches). It should be wide enough to place 8 rashers of bacon side-by-side and just a little longer than 1 rasher of bacon in the other direction (see picture above).
• Spread the pastry with the mustard and then lay out the bacon so the bacon is just touching but not overlapping.
• Cut down between the bacon, so you have 8 strips, then twist each strip several times and place on the prepared baking tray.
• Chill the twists for a minimum of 20 minutes in the fridge.
• Just before you plan on cooking the cheese straws, heat your oven to 220C / 200C / gas mark 7 / 425F.
• Remove the cheese straws from the fridge and brush with the beaten egg.
• Cook for 25-30 minutes, or until golden on top and cooked all the way through.
• Eat as soon as they are cool enough to hold.
• Store any uneaten cheese straws in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. Reheat for 10 minutes at 220C / 200C / gas mark 7 / 425F or until piping hot all the way through.

CHEESY BACON STRAWS

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F and fit a baking sheet with a wire rack.
• In a small saucepot, mix the maple syrup, red pepper flakes, orange juice and 1/4 cup water. Bring to a boil, then remove from the heat.
• Line up the bacon slices on the wire rack and brush with the hot maple syrup mixture. Sprinkle some cheese on each piece of bacon. With a skewer in hand, fold the end of a piece of bacon in half lengthwise and press the skewer through the end. Do this to 4 pieces of bacon, spreading them out evenly across the skewer, and place the skewer on the baking sheet. Twist the bacon pieces into long spirals so as to create straws. Take another skewer and skewer the bottom of each piece of bacon to keep the bacon twisted. Do this to all the bacon.
• Bake until the bacon browns, about 35 minutes. Let cool slightly on the rack; the bacon will get crunchy as it sits. Serve immediately.