Fig & Walnut Palmiers

My friend Anne brought the wonderful world of palmiers to my attention a few years ago with her great salami, olive and rosemary recipe, featured below. Thanks to Anne, I have not only made these tasty pastries countless times but so have many others I know. One friend in particular made them to the exclusion of all else and I have to say drinks in Balmain got just a tiny bit predictable. As much as we all love them there is a thing called a fair go but some people just don’t get it - “what did I do, what did I do” came the response when his wife threatened things I cannot publish here – but that’s Brian for you!

For a variation on a theme, I made this up the other day but didn’t weigh or count the ingredients so it’s a bit of a rough guide!

Makes 10-12 palmiers

Ingredients:

1 large frozen sheet bought puff pastry (thawed)
1-12 dried figs
2 handfuls walnuts
zested rind of 1 lemon
4 tablespoons caster sugar
Brandy (optional)

Method:

Reconstitute figs by placing in a saucepan, cover with cold water or brandy and gently bring to the boil. Turn heat down and simmer for about an hour – test with a skewer to check if they are soft enough, if not simmer a little longer. Remove from the heat and leave until they are quite cold.

Chop walnuts well with a sharp knife. Do not blitz in a whizzer – walnuts should be chopped one-step above “finely” not obliterated! Slice figs and cover the piece of pastry with them leaving a small boarder around the edge (see above photograph). Scatter with walnuts and sprinkle over the sugar.

To fold:

Fold the sides into the middle, turn the pastry one-half turn, fold the sides into the middle again, and then fold in half (making eight layers). Wrap in cling film to chill for at least an hour before cooking.

Remove from the fridge, slice each one into half-inch slices, and put them all onto a greased baking tray. Bake at 180˚C for approximately 15 minutes or until brown.

Serve warm sprinkled with icing sugar or sugar snow.


This is Anne’s magic recipe (as she originally sent it to me)

1 cup pitted black olives
2/3 cup of grated parmesan cheese
2 tablespoons of chopped rosemary needles
8 slices of salami
2 - 3 tablespoons oil
4 teaspoons Dijon mustard

Whiz all the ingredients in a food processor.

Take one packet (3 sheets) of thawed frozen puff pastry and spread the paste equally between the three sheets. Spread all over each one in a thin layer to completely cover
pastry.

Fold the sides into the middle, turn the pastry one-half turn, fold the sides into the middle again, and then fold in half (making eight layers). Wrap in cling film to chill for at least an hour before cooking. Cook in a fairly hot oven for 15 minutes until brown and sizzling.


TIPS: Buy the pastry that had sundried tomato and herbs already in it.
Make and freeze days or weeks before so no work to do on the day of eating!
Make only half the above amounts for less people!
Have a large gin and tonic when you’re cooking them!