Cheese and pickle straws recipe

Cheese and pickle straws are a perfect way to tie together classic British flavours, cheddar and pickle, in a handy morsel you can pass around at parties.

These really are the ultimate buffet food - simple and utterly more-ish. It only takes a shade over half an hour to make a whole platter of these - up to 25. If you need twice as many, even better! It won't take you twice as long, in fact you'll only need about five minutes extra. You could make your own pastry for cheese straws, but honestly there is no need: readymade puff pastry is ideal and has just the right flakiness. These are great on their own but we like them even better served with the fresh, oniony dip.

Ingredients

• 375g pack ready-rolled puff pastry sheet (we used Jus-Rol)
• 4 tbsp Branston Beetroot Pickle, finely chopped, or Tesco Caramelised Red Onion Relish
• 125g (4oz) mature Cheddar cheese, grated
• 1 medium egg, beaten (only half will be needed)
• 1 tbsp sesame seeds

For the dip:

• 1 small red onion, peeled and roughly chopped
• About 20g (¾oz) flat-leaf parsley leaves and stalks, roughly chopped
• 1-2 tsp small capers
• 2 tbsp olive oil

Method

1. Set the oven to gas mark 7 or 220°C. Lay out 2 teflon-lined baking trays, ready for the straws. 
2. Roll the pastry out to a 40cm square. Spread the pickle or chutney over half the square, leaving a narrow border, and then sprinkle the cheese over. Fold the other half of the pastry over it and press down gently to seal.
3. Brush pastry all over with beaten egg, then sprinkle with sesame seeds.
4. Cut the pastry into 1.5cm wide strips (they will be about 20cm long) and twist them before placing on the lined baking sheets. Bake for 12-15 mins until golden and crispy. Put on a wire rack to cool.
5. To make the dip: Put all the ingredients into a jug and whizz with a stick blender.

Top tip for cheese and pickle straws

If you don't have time to make your own dip, simply serve these with a shop-bought salsa, but try to get a fresh one from the chilled aisle rather than one from a jar.

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