spicy nduja twists
On their own, these spicy nduja pastry twists make the perfect little nibble to have with a cocktail or gin and tonic before dinner. However, they also work really well as a starter when put together with a larger selection of nibbles. When I cook my Italian-inspired menu I include them as part of an antipasti selection. Alongside the twists, I serve two kinds of cured meat (some good quality salami and parma ham), halkidiki olives, and sundried tomatoes. The twists replace the need for bread on the antipasti plate and, in my opinion, are just enough to get guests’ appetite going without filling them up before the main course. They can be prepared in advance and kept on a tray in the fridge until it’s time to bake them.
Ingredients
Serves 8
360g pre-rolled puff pastry
75g nduja
1 egg (for eggwash)
serve on their own, as a cocktail snack or with a selection of good quality antipasti to make a more substantial starter
1. Preheat the oven to 180C / 160C fan.
2. First, prepare a couple of baking trays, lining them with greasproof paper and setting to one side.
3. Remove the puff pastry from the fridge. Shop bought packs are usually around 20cm x 35cm. For this you need the pastry rectangle to be about 20cm x 50cm so place the pastry between two sheets of greaseproof pastry and gently roll out so that the longer (35cm) is lengthened until its roughly 50cm.
4. Place the rolled pastry with the longer edge facing you and then spread the nduja over the left side of the pastry. It’s easier if the nduja is room temperature, otherwise it can be a little difficult to spread evenly.
5. Fold over the pastry like a book, so you now have a sort of nduja, pastry ‘sandwich’ and gently press down so the two sides stick together. Pop in the fridge for 10 mins to firm up slightly.
6. Take the pastry back out of the fridge and brush the top side with egg wash. Then, take a sharp knife and cut the pastry into strips around 20cm x 1.5cm. You should end up with around 16-20 strips.
7. Take each strip, twisting a few times so you get a sort of ‘helix’ effect and place them on the prepared trays. At this stage you can leave the twists in the fridge until you are ready to cook. You can also freeze them if you are making them well in advance (you’ll just need to add a few minutes onto the cooking time).
8. When you are ready to serve, pop them in the oven for 20-25, keeping an eye on them for the last 5 minutes so that the pastry doesn’t burn. Remove from the oven, and leave for a few minutes to cool (and firm up).
