Cheese stars are essentially cheese straws cut into the uniform shapes to please anal people such as myself. My mum made them when she needed to use up some leftover puff pastry and they were always a firm favourite with my dad and brother, especially served warm straight from the oven.
Since appointing myself the family chef, my brother demands them most holidays and, after years of trial and error, I can tell you that the secret to successful cheese stars (or whatever shape takes your fancy) is... Cheese. And lots of it.
In fact, I’m not sure a recipe is really required for this one, but here goes...
INGREDIENTS
500g pack of puff pastry
An inordinate amount of cheddar cheese, grated
Ground white pepper
1 egg, beaten
Flour, for dusting
METHOD
1) Preheat the oven to a moderate heat – say, around 190 to 200 degrees.
2) Grate as much cheese as you dare. My brother regularly challenges me to cram more cheese than pastry into these babies, but this is quite a complicated culinary feat. I know – I’ve tried.
3) Roll your puff pastry out onto a floured surface. Cover generously with about a third of your grated cheese and sprinkle with a bit of pepper. Fold up the pastry and roll it out again to combine the cheese.
4) Repeat as many times as you can until you’ve incorporated as much cheese as humanly possible.
5) Roll your pastry to the thickness of about a centimetre and cut into stars, straws or whatever pleases you and arrange on a silicone or non-stick baking tray. Brush with the beaten egg. Sprinkle with extra cheese for good measure.
6) Bake in a moderate oven for 15 to 20 minutes until golden and oozing with cheese. Serve warm.
And that’s it. Next stop – deep-fried Mars bars...
