Puff Pastries (Wasabi Chevre + Crystallized Ginger)

Yes, you read that correctly. Yes, they were delicious. The ball of wasabi chevre I mentioned last post has gradually been getting smaller. It goes well on my (current) cracker of choice, ak-mak, so that made a dent. E and I put it to good use on sandwiches - toasted hippie bread, tomato, avocado, frisee, pear, wasabi chevre - that were delicious in every way. But, still, it hasn't been quick enough. I run away to Seattle shortly and my fridge has a few too many perishables. Coworkers give me a great outlet for eating my food, but I wasn't going to show up in the morning with a block of cheese and crackers and beg them to eat it. So, pastries seemed the obvious choice.

These are moderately recognizable - I've made something similar before, though with jam. I had learned some lessons last time; 1) they needed to be stuffed with filling rather than merely spread and 2) powdered sugar gives a flavor, but not quite what one expects on these. I solved (1) in the obvious way, and (2) was done in by muscovado sugar. I also knew the chevre, by itself, would be good but not quite enough. Sushi tells me that ginger and soy sauce go well with wasabi. One of those is an obvious choice; I toyed with the idea of topping them with fresh ground black pepper instead of muscovado but quickly abandoned it when I tested a bite containing all three of those powerful flavors (wasabi, ginger, pepper). I made the dough at night, rolled it out and cut it, then in the morning filled, folded, and baked them. Fresh from the oven was the best; the chevre loses a lot as it cools. If you are going to make these, consider it as an appetizer to be served immediately.

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Puff Pastries (Wasabi Chevre + Crystallized Ginger)

1 stick of butter worth of rough puff pastry

~3 oz wasabi chevre

~10 pieces crystallized ginger, chopped finely

muscovado sugar (for garnish)

ground ginger (for garnish)

The directions for construction are fairly obvious - make squares a few inches on each side. I think I put, roughly, 1/2 tbsp chevre and 1/2 tsp ginger in each pocket. Enough so that, when sealed, they were mostly full. Using a spoon, I put a little muscovado on each and spread it in with a finger tip, then sprinkled powdered ginger over the whole thing.

Bake for ~18 minutes at 400 degrees on a parchment-lined sheet; I might suggest 425 degrees for less time, to get a bit more browning, but I didn't try this.