I do love bringing out a tray of something from the oven to have with drinks.
Inevitably it will be something I have made earlier and kept in the fridge, ready to put in the oven at the last minute.
Sometimes, it will be nothing more than a tray home-made oven chips tossed with salt and chopped rosemary, but on other occasions, I go to a little more trouble.
My favourite are these crisp puff pastry dumplings, plump little cushions, with a filling of apples and cheese.
Don’t even think of making your own puff pastry, there are some really good ones in the shops.
I like to pass these around with a pickle or chutney of some sort, the sharper the better.
They are almost as good cold (packed lunch, autumn picnic, midnight snack) as they are when eaten hot.
It is a good idea to make sure the edges are tight, to stop the filling leaking as they bake.
Makes 16
apples 500g (3 medium apples)
water 3 tbsp
stilton or other blue cheese 150g
puff pastry 1 x 320g sheet
egg 1, large, beaten
poppy seeds 2 tsp
Peel and core the apples, then roughly chop them.
Put them in a stainless-steel saucepan with the water and simmer over a moderate heat until soft.
Stir them occasionally to stop them sticking, then crush them with a fork.
You are after a filling that is soft, but not runny. (If there is any excess juice, put the apples in a sieve for a while, to let them drain.)
Set aside to cool.
Preheat the oven to 200C/gas mark 6.
Cut the pastry in half. Then, on a floured board, roll out one half to a square measuring 32cm x 32cm.
Cut the pastry into 16 equal squares. (Each will measure roughly 8cm.)
Crumble the stilton and stir into the apple, then place 1½ heaped tablespoons of the mixture into the center of 8 of the squares of pastry.
Brush the edges of each square with a little beaten egg, then place the remaining squares of pastry over the filling and seal each one tightly with your fingertips or by pressing around the edges with a fork.
Transfer the little dumplings to a baking sheet and keep them cool.
Repeat with the remaining pastry, again making 8 dumplings.
Brush each dumpling with beaten egg and scatter with poppy seeds.
