Friday, July 15, 2011

Puff pastry straws with truffles

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The menu for this year's Trufflepalooza extravaganza is coming together. I'm up to 16 truffle-laced courses. Yes, I'm a masochist.

Thankfully not all of this year's dishes are as complicated as the truffled pork and shrimp shu mai my husband came up with. There are a few dead simple but perfectly delicious dishes on the list. Like radish tartines with truffle butter. And crostini with fresh ricotta and truffle honey. And a new addition this year: truffled puff pastry straws.


Most of the time I make do with grocery store frozen puff pastry (hello, Pepperidge Farm), but for these crispy, flaky sticks of truffly heaven I make a special trip to Surfas for Dufour all-butter puff pastry. Flour and butter. Butter and flour. Add in some beautiful black summer truffles from Sabatino Tartufi - they're kindly providing all the fresh truffles and truffle products for Trufflepalooza 2011 - and you've got a truly addictive snack. I don't want to tell you how many of these I ate when I was testing the recipe last weekend. I'm not going to tell you. You would definitely think less of me.

Fortunately my friend Andrew is spending a month in Los Angeles and stopped by to visit last weekend. He helped with the recipe testing while lying on the grass in the backyard. A tough job, but one he handled with grace.


Note the closed eyes. You can't hear the little groans of appreciation, but they were there - take my word for it.



print recipe

Puff pastry straws with truffles
A completely addictive snack. Use all-butter puff pastry if you can get your hands on it.
Ingredients
  • 2 large sheets puff pastry dough (preferably all-butter), defrosted according to package directions
  • 1/2 cup parmesan, Romano or Grana Padano cheese, grated
  • approximately 1/2 tsp truffle salt
  • 4 tsp white or black truffle oil
  • 2 Tbsp freshly grated black or white truffle
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.On a lightly floured surface, roll out one sheet of the puff pastry dough with the short side near you until it is thin and smooth and generally maintains its rectangular shape. Don't break out a ruler or anything, and don't get all fussy and trim the sides. These are meant to be rustic.Spread half the cheese, truffle salt, truffle oil and grated truffles over the bottom half of the rectangle. Fold the top half of the puff pastry over and press lightly over the top with the rolling pin to knit everything together.Using a pizza cutter or sharp knife, cut slices of dough about 3/4-inch wide. Pick up one strip, twist it a few times between your hands, and lay it on the baking sheet, pressing the ends into the parchment to keep it from untwisting. Repeat with the rest of the strips, then do the whole thing over again with the second sheet of dough and the rest of the cheese and truffle stuff.Bake the puff pastry straws about 15 minutes or until they are golden brown. Serve immediately. If you want to make them ahead, underbake them slightly, store them in an airtight container, and re-warm them for a few minutes in the oven before serving to crisp them up.
Details
Prep time: Cook time: Total time: Yield: approximately 2 dozen pieces

6 comments:

kristy said...

Wow Erika! These look beyond words. I'm definitely going to have to get my hands on some truffles one of these days!

Monet said...

I've made straws similar to this before, but this recipe looks like it would knock my sticks out of the water! Thank you for sharing with me today. Visiting your blog is an inspiring way to start my weekend. I hope you have a blessed time with family and friends.

Marnely Rodriguez-Murray said...

Wow, I need to stock up on Truffle heaven! Love this, they do sound addictive!

Mari Nuñez said...

I am sure they must be delicious, they look great!!! Have a great week Erika ;)

Kim said...

Erika - I am so sad to be missing out on the party this year.

Can I be with you in spirit?! I've been following along via FB; sounds like you're going to have a marvelous party.

Don't overdo it!!!

[K]

Erika Kerekes said...

Kim - you will be missed. And of course I'm going to overdo it. That's the whole point. :)

Kristy, Monet, Marnely, Mari - hop a flight and come on over - it promises to be a fantastic party!

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