Air Fryer Recipe
Crispy Mushroom and Cheese Stuffed Pastry Puffs
These mushroom and cheese stuffed pastry puffs are a delightful treat, with a savoury filling that contrasts beautifully with the crisp, flaky pastry. The air fryer is ideal for this recipe, as it ensures the pastry puffs up perfectly while keeping the filling moist and flavourful.
Ingredients
- 320g ready-rolled puff pastry sheet, chilled
- 250g chestnut mushrooms, finely chopped
- 1 small banana shallot or ½ small onion, finely diced
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 15g unsalted butter
- 1 garlic clove, finely grated or crushed
- 1 tsp fresh thyme leaves, or ½ tsp dried thyme
- ½ tsp Dijon mustard
- 80g mature Cheddar, grated
- 50g full-fat cream cheese
- 20g Parmesan or vegetarian hard cheese, finely grated
- 1 tbsp chopped flat-leaf parsley
- ¼ tsp fine sea salt, plus more to taste
- Black pepper, freshly ground
- 1 medium egg, beaten, for sealing and glazing
- 1 tsp sesame seeds or poppy seeds, optional
- Plain flour, for dusting if the pastry becomes tacky
Method
- Take the puff pastry out of the fridge 5–10 minutes before using, just long enough to unroll without cracking. Keep it cool rather than soft.
- Heat the olive oil and butter in a frying pan over medium-high heat, then add the shallot and cook for 2 minutes until softened but not browned.
- Add the chopped mushrooms with the salt and cook for 7–9 minutes, stirring often, until the pan looks dry and the mushrooms have reduced to a dark, concentrated mixture.
- Stir in the garlic, thyme and Dijon mustard, then cook for 1 minute more.
- Scrape the mixture onto a plate and spread it out to cool for 10 minutes.
- Once the mushroom mixture is no longer hot, stir in the Cheddar, cream cheese, Parmesan and parsley. Taste and adjust with pepper and a little more salt if needed.
- Unroll the pastry on its paper and cut it into 12 equal rectangles. If the pastry is very soft, slide it on a tray into the fridge for 5 minutes before filling.
- Place a heaped teaspoon of mushroom filling on one half of each rectangle, leaving a clear border of about 1cm. Brush the border lightly with beaten egg.
- Fold each rectangle over the filling and press the edges firmly with your fingers, then crimp with a fork. Prick the top of each puff once with the tip of a knife.
- Brush the tops with beaten egg and sprinkle with sesame or poppy seeds if using.
- Preheat the air fryer to 190°C for 3 minutes if your model recommends preheating. Line the basket with parchment, then arrange 6 puffs in a single layer with at least 2cm between them.
- Air fry at 190°C for 9 minutes, then check. Turn the puffs carefully only if the bases look pale; otherwise leave them top-side up and cook for another 2–4 minutes until deeply golden and crisp.
- Rest the puffs on a wire rack for 5 minutes before serving.
Nutrition
Calories: 250
