Upside Down Stilton Pesto Canapes
Welcome back to Upside Down Cooking and today we’re creating some New Years Eve canapes made with the last of the Christmas Stilton.
I’m layering un-cooked sprouts, carrots and fennel onto an oiled and seasoned baking sheet and then whizzing up a mix of stilton, chives and almonds into a chunky pesto. The pesto is then slathered onto little disks of puff pastry and laid on top of the vegetables.
A quick brush with egg wash and they go into a hot oven until suitably scorched…
I say hot oven but the whole village actually had a power-cut halfway through the cooking so I had to wait patiently for the power to come back on and then re-bake them, so they’re slightly wonky looking… but it all worked out fine… and we ended up with the most gorgeous, upside down stilton pesto canapes of New Years Joy! Happy New Year everyone!
Makes 12
For the baking sheet
- 1 x 320g sheet of ready rolled puff pastry, 35 x 23cm
- a drizzle of olive oil
- salt and pepper
- Fresh thyme
- 50g cheddar cheese – finely grated
- 3 brussels sprouts – cut in half
- 1 carrot – cut into thick slices
- 1/3 fennel – cut into thick slices
- 1 large egg, beaten
For the stilton pesto
- 150g left-over stilton
- 1 bunch fresh chives – roughly chopped
- 50g almonds (or your favourite nuts)
- A little olive oil
Line a large baking tray with parchment and preheat the oven to 200C/180C Fan.
Remove the pastry from the fridge and set aside.
Drizzle a little oil over the lined baking trays, sprinkle with fresh thyme, then season with salt and pepper. Grate over the cheddar cheese.
Arrange the vegetables over the seasoned tray, evenly spacing them out. Use 1 piece of veg per tart, placing them 4 rows across by 3 rows down.
Place the ingredients for the stilton pesto into a food processor and blend until you have a rough paste.
Roll out the puff pastry and cut each sheet into 12 small bite-sized pieces. You could make squares or use a round cookie cutter to make round canapes. Slather a small dollop of the pesto onto the pastry and lay them, pesto side down onto the vegetable pieces.
Using the back of a fork, press indentations around the edge of each canape to seal. Score a cross diagonally over the top with a sharp knife and then brush with beaten egg.
Bake for 25 minutes, until wonderfully golden and puffy. Remove from the oven and let the tarts sit on the trays for 5 minutes before flipping them over with a spatula.
For more upside down recipes, check out my book, Upside Down Cooking
Eat and of course, enjoy!
