Anchovy and Red Pesto Pinwheels
In the French movie Le Sens de la Fête - also known as C'est La Vie in anglophone countries - servers hand out to guests allumettes aux anchois, or large puff pastry matchsticks, with disastrous results! (Please avoid serving these with sparkling water, and they'll be delicious.)These pinwheels are slightly more delicate, but still quite salty and strong. Remember that this is an apéro snack, one that accompanies a pre-dinner drink. The number of actual anchovies you use in this recipe will depend on your taste. Ten anchovies will leave no doubt in your guests’ mouths about the ingredients, and is definitely intense! But if you love anchovies, it’s not too much. (And if you don’t like anchovies at all, well, I suspect you won’t be making this recipe.)
Ingredients
- 6 – 10 anchovies in oil, blotted on paper towels
- ½ cup red sun-dried tomato pesto, store-bought, or homemade red pesto (see below)
- 1 package frozen puff pastry or fresh homemade puff pastry
- 1 egg, for the egg wash
For the red pesto:
- 1 scant cup (80 g) shelled walnut halves
- 2 cloves garlic, green germ removed if necessary, coarsely chopped
- 1 generous cup (200 g drained weight) sun-dried tomatoes, drained and blotted on paper towels
- ¼ cup (20 g) grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
- ½ cup (100 g) best-quality extra-virgin olive oil
Instructions
- If you’re making the red pesto yourself, preheat the oven to 300°F (150°C). Otherwise, skip to step 5.
- Spread the walnuts on a shallow baking sheet and slow-roast them for 25-30 minutes, or until you smell a lovely walnut odor emanating from your oven. Let the walnuts cool directly on the baking sheet – after cooling, they should be crispy all the way through.
- In a food processor, combine the cooled walnuts, garlic, sun-dried tomatoes, and cheese, and process several times to make a paste. It will look a bit dry. Continue to process and slowly add the olive oil.
- Reserve ⅓ cup pesto for this puff pastry recipe, and transfer the rest of the pesto to an air-tight container. Drizzle a bit of olive oil over the top. The pesto will keep in the refrigerator for about 2 weeks.
- Dice the anchovies finely and mix them with the pesto in a small bowl. Spread out the puff pastry on a lightly floured countertop (or on a piece of parchment paper). Using a rubber spatula, spread the anchovy-pesto mixture evenly over the entire surface of the puff pastry.
- Roll up the puff pastry tightly in a sheet of parchment paper, and place in the freezer for about 45 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 400° F (205° C).
- Remove the puff pastry roll from the freezer – it should be firm. Using a serrated knife in long strokes, cut the roll crossways into slices about ½-inch (1.3 cm) thick. If the ends aren’t pretty or don’t have enough anchovy-pesto mixture because your puff pastry is round, that’s okay – you can bake these too, and they’ll make up the base of your “pile” on the plate.
- Using your hands (with gloves, if you like), carefully transfer the pinwheels to a baking sheet, reshaping them into circles as you go if necessary. Separate the egg, placing the yolk in a small bowl and reserving the white for another use. Using a pastry brush, stir about 3-4 drops of water into the yolk. Brush the tops of the pinwheels lightly in the middle and then all around the top, but being careful so that the egg wash doesn’t drip onto the baking sheet.
- Bake the pinwheels on a rack in the middle of the oven for 20-25 minutes, or until they’re a deep golden-brown on top.
- Remove from oven. Stack ‘em high on a small plate and serve immediately. Bon app’!
Notes
makes 15-18 bite-sized pinwheels
© Allison Zinder