Last Updated on June 22, 2021 by HodgePodgeDays
Each spring the woodland footpaths here abouts are fringed with wild garlic. I often pick a handful of leaves on my morning dog walks. Sometimes if I’ve got some time on my hands, I’ll pick enough to make a jar of wild garlic pesto, if I make enough of it, I’ll freeze some for later in the year. Wild garlic pesto is a potent thing, and should be consumed with caution, especially if you’re planning a hot date later that evening.
If you’ve got a couple of tablespoons of wild garlic pesto going spare, then these cheese and wild garlic pesto twists are a simple but excellent way to use the pesto. If you have no wild garlic pesto at all, then they’re just as good with regular pesto.
It’s pretty straightforward and if they’re keen to get involved, it’s a fun thing for kids to get stuck into making too.
Cheese and Wild Garlic Pesto Twists
You will need:
Wild garlic pesto, about 1-2 tablespoons
1 sheet of ready rolled puff pastry
50g grated cheddar cheese
1/2 a ball of mozzarella, torn into small pieces
Melted butter to brush over
To make your Cheese and Wild Garlic Pesto Twists:
Pre-heat your oven to 200c. Line a baking tray with baking parchment and assemble your ingredients.
Lay out your puff pastry sheet and cut it in half down the middle lengthways. Spread your wild garlic pesto over one of the halves and sprinkle the cheddar and mozzarella over the top.
Lay the other piece of pastry over on top of the pesto and cheese; press down gently and then using your fingers, pressing around the edges to seal them together. Cut into 8 strips widthways and when you lay them in the baking sheet, twist them. Make sure there’s space between them as they will spread out a little in the oven.
Brush each one with melted butter and bake for 15 minutes or so in your pre-heated oven. They should be nicely browned and some of the cheese may have escaped and bubbled a bit. This only makes them more delicious.
Once baked, remove them from the oven and leave them to cool on the baking paper. The cheese will make them soft and prone to flopping and breaking unless you leave them to cool before moving them.
The finished twists make an excellent lunch with a pile of nice salad, or a great on the go snack for busy people. I usually bake two batches of these (double the quantity) because once they’re cool, they seem to disappear very quickly – always a good sign!
If you enjoyed this, you might also like to try this wild garlic focaccia or these wild garlic and cheese scones.
