Palmiers are a French pastry that are sort of butterfly shaped; before getting corrected, I called them butterfly cookies for this reason. They’re gorgeously light due to their mostly being made of puff pastry. Though one normally encounters them prepared sweetly, with sugar or citrus, they are lovely when lined with savory filling as well.
This is where the parmigiano-reggiano comes in, a gift brought back from Italy, it needed to go into some of these pronto. The nutty, sweet, grassy flavors of this quintessentially Italian cheese goes so well with the buttery puff pastry and a smattering of oregano. And things that are butterfly shaped are just too good to pass up.
As a note on puff pastry: You can make it on your own, but it’s a long laborious process of laminating that I just wasn’t going to get through today. (And wouldn’t have had the palmiers finished until tomorrow). You can buy puff pastry from the store, but I want you to make me a promise if you’re going to. No crossing your fingers! Repeat after me:
“Dana, I promise to only purchase puff pastry having read the ingredients. Only all butter puff pastry is going to come home with me.”
Why the promising? Because if it isn’t all butter puff pastry, there are going to be all kinds of bad mystery fats hidden in the layers of flour. Bad fats that you don’t want in your palmiers. I hate to get ingredient preachy, but I don’t want you bringing home mystery fat laden puff pastry from the store because of me.
Parmigiano-Reggiano and Oregano Palmiers
1 sheet of puff pastry (home made or all butter, you promised!)
1/4 cup of grated parmigiano-reggiano
1 1/2 tsp dried oregano
Directions
Take your puff pastry out of the freezer and let it thaw enough to unroll it, then roll over it a few times with a rolling pin, to flatten it out perfectly. To ward off sticking, I did this between sheets of parchment paper.
Grate the cheese until you have a small mountain (I’d live on a mountain made of parmigiano-reggiano), about 1/4 Cup, or enough to cover the whole surface of the puff pastry with a fine layer of it. Don’t forget the edges, they need cheesy goodness too.
Sprinkle on the oregano, aiming for even coverage, but imperfections are okay.
Starting at one edge, roll up the puff pastry, attempting to keep it evenly and tightly rolled.
When the pastry is halfway rolled up, start on the opposite edge.
Once the rolling is completed and the two edges meet, place the roll in the fridge for a few minutes to firm up, and then cut it into 1/4 inch slices.
Place the slices on a parchment lined baking sheet with a little bit of breathing room between them, and then pop them into a 400° oven until they get puffed up and golden (~10-12 minutes).
Allow to cool, and enjoy!
How beautiful! I love the savory application for puff pastry. Don’t worry about me I am a butter fanatic!
Dana:
You’re in really good company with the puff pastry.
I was watching Jamie Oliver at Home on the Food Network this week and he too was usnig puff pastry. He admitted you could make puff pastry at home and then stopped for a moment and pondered and said he couldn’t think of anything he’d make where he wouldn’t just buy the stuff from the store rather than endure the tedium of the home-made procedure. Your butterfly wings full of parmesan and herbs look mouth watering–I could almost smell the buttery salty goodness looking at the pictures.
I love the idea of a savory palmier. I’ve never made them. Thanks for the inspiration! xo
They look very safory. Perfect!
Oooh, what a great snack. Perfect for drinks ith friends. Yum!
These look like a definite winner! Nomnomnom
These look delicious and they’re so pretty!
[...] 1 sheet of puff pastry (Remember your all butter promise?) [...]