Lady M

We are sheltering this month, cooking from Midnight Chicken by Ella Risbridger. It's a cozy cookbook, one that's part-story, part-recipes, and wholly uplifting. You could call it comfort food, but it's much more. The book is packed with cozy gems (picture six-hour ragus, pots of savory clams, and bowls of tomato soup). Certain cookbooks feel right for certain months. Home cooking, warmth, and comfort feel most fitting at this time.

You can be sure that we'll be cooking many (maybe even most) of the recipes in Midnight Chicken. We were first and most drawn to these golden pastries filled with goat cheese, herbs, and prosciutto. It sounds complex, but is easy to put together.

The cheesy pastries are served warm, over dressed greens (we used a mix of spinach and arugula) and tomatoes (Risbridger makes a tomato salsa, but we kept it simple). Hot and flaky puff pastry, soft cheese and curls of prosciutto, it warms you all the way though. Best with a cup of tea, and slice of Berry Mont Blanc Tart for dessert. Here's our adaption of her recipe:

Goat's Cheese Puff

For the pastry:
1 sheet (about 9 ounces) of puff pastry
4 slices of prosciutto
1 small log of soft goat's cheese
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 egg, beaten

For the greens:
1/3 pound washed spinach and/or arugula (we used a 50/50 mix)
1/2 pound cherry tomatoes, halved
Olive oil, lemon, and Maldon salt

Preheat oven to 350F. Unroll the puff pastry and cut it into four squares. Lay two strips of prosciutto in an "x' shape, corner to corner, on each square. Do this for all four puff pastry squares.

Slice the goat cheese log into four circles of equal thickness. Place each circle (cut side up) in the center of the square. Drizzle olive oil on top of the cheese and prosciutto (feel free to sprinkle on any dried herbs you have on hand. Thyme is especially nice.)

Lift and fold all four corner of each puff pastry square into the center, forming a pyramid. You can simply press the corners shut together, twist, or pleat close (which is what we did). Brush the pastry exterior with a beaten egg and bake for 15 minutes, till golden.

While the pastries are baking, make a dressing of equal parts olive oil and fresh lemon juice (about 1.5 tablespoons each). Whisk well and season with Maldon salt. Toss the greens and tomatoes with the dressing. Divide among four plates.

Once the pastries are ready, remove them from oven and let cool a few minutes. Top each plate with the hot pastry. Devour with a fork and knife. It is heavenly.

Risbridger offers a happy paragraph (which we agree with 100%) summing up the primary pleasure of this pastry:

Enjoy, enjoy, and take care.