Source: RecipeTin Eats by Nagi Maehashi
Ingredients
- 1 small onion, peeled, whole
- ½ cup panko breadcrumbs (Note 1)
- 500g/1 lb beef mince (ground beef), the fattier the better
- 1 egg
- 2 garlic cloves, minced or finely grated
- 1 beef stock cube, crumbled, or ½ tsp cooking salt
- ½ tsp cooking salt / kosher salt
- ¼ tsp black pepper
- ⅓ cup pickled jalapeño, roughly chopped (Note 2)
- 1 ½ cups (150g) cheddar, shredded (Note 3)
- ½ cup (50g) parmesan, shredded
- 2 sheets frozen puff pastry, butter is better (Note 4)
- 1 egg, separated
Sprinkling
- 1 tsp white sesame seeds
- ½ tsp black sesame seeds (or more white)
Serving
- Tomato sauce or ketchup
Directions
- Preheat the oven to 200°C/425°F (180°C fan-forced).
- Soak the onion. Grate the onion into a bowl on a box grater, keeping all the juices. Add the panko and toss so it wets through.
- Everything but the cheese. Add the beef, egg, garlic, stock cube, salt, pepper, and jalapeño, and mix well by hand.
- Crumble in the cheese. Add both cheeses, crumbling them through the beef with your fingers before mixing — this stops the cheese clumping together.
- Roll. Barely thaw the pastry; stiffer is easier to handle. Divide the meat into 2 equal logs and roll each up in pastry, overlapping the base so it is a double layer and sealing with egg white. Finish seam side down and trim the surplus pastry.
- Finish. Cut each log in half, cut 3 diagonal slashes across the top of each roll, brush with egg yolk, and sprinkle with the sesame seeds.
- Bake. Place on a paper-lined tray and bake 35 minutes, then transfer onto a rack to lift them out of the fat (Note 5). Bake a further 15 minutes, until the pastry is deep golden and the underside is crisp.
- Cool on the rack for 5 minutes before serving, with tomato sauce or ketchup.
Notes
- Note 1 — Panko breadcrumbs. Larger than regular crumbs, which keeps the filling soft. Regular breadcrumbs work but give a denser filling.
- Note 2 — Pickled jalapeño. From the pickle aisle; the tang cuts the richness. Chop to roughly 3mm. Leftovers go in tacos and sandwiches.
- Note 3 — Cheese. Any shreddable melting cheese works. Avoid mozzarella (too mild) and hard cheeses like pecorino (too salty). The bakery uses cheddar.
- Note 4 — Puff pastry. Sheets are 24cm / 9.5" squares. Butter puff tastes better and puffs better than the oil-based kind.
- Note 5 — The rack matters. The juicy filling releases a lot of liquid and sogs the base; lifting the rolls onto a rack for the last stretch is the fix. The base will never be shatteringly crisp, but it won't be soggy.
- Note 6 — Regular and party size. Cut the 2 pastry sheets in half to make 4 logs, then cut each into 2 (regular) or 4 (party size) and spread over 2 trays. Bake 30 minutes on the tray, then 10 minutes on a rack, at the same temperature.
Leftovers keep up to 4 days in the fridge, though the pastry loses its crispness — reheat at 180°C/350°F (160°C fan) for 12–15 minutes. They also freeze well once wrapped in pastry: thaw, then bake per the recipe, and hold off on the egg yolk until just before baking.
Offcuts are worth saving — paint the pastry trimmings with egg white, sprinkle with salt and plenty of parmesan, and bake for 20 minutes.