Cookies Preferences
Who doesn't love a cheese straw?!?! I was in line at our local supermarket and spied a package of biltong powder (South African beef jerky) and thought I needed to play with it a bit. What I've come up with is a lovely snack with a glass of wine, that has an added umami kick. I know most of you can't waltz out and just buy biltong powder, so I have some suggestions. First of all I saw that Amazon does sell all kinds of biltong - I'd just break it up and throw it in your spice grinder or high powered blender so you end up with a powder. If that doesn't seem feasible (or you want a vegetarian option) try pulverizing some dried shiitake or porcini mushrooms. I think you'll get the same effect. With any leftover powder you can add it to soups for a rich flavor or sprinkle some on your roasted potatoes or maybe add to your eggs in the morning. It's just a wonderful flavor bomb. Also, I suggest as sharp a cheddar as you can find. Yes, you can use your garden-variety bag of supermarket shredded cheddar, but I'd say spring for something a little more special.
1 sheet store-bought puff pastry, thawed
1 cup shredded cheddar (see headnote)
1/4 cup biltong powder (see headnote)
2 tablespoons sumac
Preheat your oven to 220C/425F degrees and line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
On a lightly floured surface roll out your thawed puff pastry so it's just slightly larger and thinner than the original sheet. It should be a rectangle - on the bottom half of it sprinkle on the biltong powder, then the cheddar, then the sumac. Fold the top half of the dough over the cheesy bottom and using a rolling pin roll the dough together as much as possible. Now cut the dough into 1/2 inch slices (the short way), twist each slice and place them on the prepared baking sheets.
Bake the trays for 15 minutes, until they're lovely and golden and the cheese is thoroughly melted. Allow to cool.
