Cheese straws
Cheese straws are a favourite party snack or afternoon nibble, whether on their own or paired with a delicious dip. This recipe from Nathan Outlaw uses wonderful mature cheddar and smoked paprika for a lovely, savoury flavour, but feel free to experiment with other spices for different tastes.
Ingredients
- 150g of cheddar , finely grated
- 200g of plain flour, plus more for dusting
- smoked paprika
- black pepper , freshly ground
- 100g of butter , chilled, plus more for greasing
- 1 free-range egg yolk
- poppy seeds, to coat the cheese straws
Method
1
To make the cheese straws, preheat the oven to 220ºC/gas mark 7. Lightly grease a large baking sheet and cover it with greaseproof paper
2
Put the cheese into a mixing bowl. Sift in the flour and add a sprinkling of smoked paprika. Add some freshly ground black pepper and mix
- 200g of plain flour
- smoked paprika
- black pepper
- 150g of cheddar , finely grated
3
Cut the butter into little cubes and rub them into the flour mix with your fingertips. When the butter has almost disappeared into the flour and you have a crumbly mixture, stir in the egg yolk with a butter knife
- 100g of butter
- 1 free-range egg yolk
4
Gather the pastry into a ball of dough. Dust the work surface with plenty of flour. Carefully roll out the cheese dough into a rough square--it should be about 5mm thick. Neaten the edges with the side of your hand
5
With a sharp knife, cut the square into strips, then each strip into fingers. Pour some poppy seeds in a shallow tray and dip one side of each strip in the seeds. Twist the straws so that the seeded side goes around the strip in a spiral pattern
- poppy seeds
6
Gently lift the straws on to the lined baking sheet, leaving a little space between each one. Place the baking sheet in the oven and bake for about 8 minutes. The cheese straws should be a very pale golden brown
7
They will be fragile once removed from the oven, so leave them to sit for 5 minutes before you try to move them. Carefully lift up the baking parchment and transfer everything to a wire rack to cool for a few more minutes
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Cheese straws
