Ingredients: |
Ingredients: 1 Box (14 oz) frozen puff pastry thawed according to pkg. directions
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
5 ounces sliced cheese (Swiss is suggested, but any cheese that melts well will do, according to
preference)
5 ounces sliced ham
1 egg white, lightly beaten
pinch of ground black pepper
flour for rolling out pastry
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Directions: |
Directions:Preheat oven to 400ºF with rack in the center position. Lightly flour work surface and rolling pin. Roll out the puff pastry to a 10X15 inch rectangle about ¼ inch thick. Place the pastry on a sheet of parchment paper so that one of the short sides is facing you.
With a a sharp knife cut of the top corners of the rectangle at a 45-degree angle, leaving 4 inches of dough between them. Next cut out two triangular notches at the bottom of the rectangle, again leaving about
4 inches between the notches. The whole thing will kind of look like a short-stumped Christmas tree
missing it's pointy top. Finally, make 8 diagonal slits, about 1 inch apart and parallel to the notches, along each side of the pastry, leaving a 4 inch wide strip in the center intact. The narrow flaps will get folded over to make the braid (see photos).
Spread the Dijon mustard over the center strip of pastry (not on the side flaps) and layer the cheese and ham over the mustard leaving a ¾ inch border at the top and bottom. Fold the top and bottom edges of the pastry over the ham and cheese. Starting from the top and alternating sides, fold the diagonal flats of pastry over the filling, crisscrossing them on top of one another until all are interwoven and the filling is completely covered. Trim any excess pastry and carefully transfer braid on parchment to a sheet pan. Lightly brush with egg white and sprinkle with black pepper. Bake approx. 25 to 30 minutes |
Personal
Notes: |
Personal
Notes: This can be an appetizer or a light main course. Just feel free to change your filling, or exchange the Dijon for another spread. Just be careful not to get the pastry dough too wet on the bottom.
Also, I recommend lightly spraying parchment with cooking spray to prevent dough from sticking.
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This recipe for Ham and Cheese Pastry Braid is from