Parmesan & Pepperoni Pinwheels

I’ve been making Parmesan & Pepperoni Pinwheels for years. In fact, when I had a lifestyle blog previously, this was one of the few recipes on it. These tasty little bites are so good and perfect for just about any occasion. They taste great hot, at room temperature or even cold and can keep in the fridge for a few days. I love these little crispy scrolls as party nibble, but they also work in lunchboxes, for a picnic, as a potluck contribution or even as nibbly bit to have at Sunday brunch or on a buffet.

The beauty of this recipe is that you can prepare most of it the day before if you think you’ll be short for time, making it perfect for parties or big dinners when you don’t have many minutes to waste. Using ready-made puff pastry is another convenience that makes Parmesan & Pepperoni Pinwheels a convenient go-to whenever you need them.

To make this recipe you will need a baking tray, but preferably two if you have them as well as some non-stick cooking spray or non-stick baking paper. It’s also a lot easier to make Parmesan & Pepperoni Pinwheels if you have a silicon pastry brush. If you don’t have one, I highly recommend getting one because it’s inexpensive and I use mine all the time. Let’s get started!

Makes 24 to 28 pinwheels

Ingredients

• 100g Parmesan cheese, finely shredded
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• A good few grindings of black pepper
• 1 sheet ready-made puff pastry (Such as Jus-Rol)
• 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
• 90g pepperoni slices
• 1 egg, lightly beaten

Method

1. Add the cheese, dried thyme, dried oregano and black pepper to a small bowl and mix them together with your hands.
2. Unroll the puff pastry sheet and cut it in half lengthways so that you have two long rectangles. Spread the Dijon mustard across each rectangle of pastry leaving a small edge clean (about a centimetre or two). This is easiest if you have a silicone pastry brush, but if you don’t, you can use the back of a spoon or your finger might be easier because you want a reasonably thin layer.
3. Now it’s time to place your pepperoni slices. You want to divide them using half on each rectangle and layer them everywhere you’ve painted on the mustard. Space them out however you need to. If you have enough to overlap them, great – if not you can space them out as evenly as you can and try to cover as much of the mustardy surface as possible.
4. Now carefully sprinkle half of the cheesy herb mixture over the pepperoni slices on one rectangle and then repeat on the other with the remaining cheese. Finally you want to go back to this little edge you’ve left blank and paint a bit of the lightly beaten egg on it. This is gonna be the glue that holds the rolls together, similar to the glue on an envelope.
5. Now, starting at the covered end of one rectangle (not the side with the egg wash glue), start rolling the rectangle in on itself as tight as you can, taking care to keep the filling inside. You can actually use the non-stick paper the pastry comes rolled in to help you with this. You are rolling the longest side in on itself so at the end you’ll have a long log shape. Do this until you reach the egg painted end and press it closed to seal it. Now repeat this process with the other rectangle. Wrap them both as easily as you can in the non-stick paper and transfer to a baking sheet they’ll both fit on and stick them in the fridge for 20 to 30 minutes.
   • Notes:
     • If you don’t have time to put the rolls in the fridge you can skip straight to the next step, but refrigerating them for a bit makes them easier to cut.
     • You can prepare the rolls and refrigerate them overnight wrapped in cling film to save time on the day.
6. When the puff pastry rolls are chilled sufficiently, preheat the oven to 200°C / 180° Fan / 400°F and prepare two baking sheets if you have them spraying them with non-stick cooking spray or lining them with non-stick baking paper.
7. Take the rolls out of the fridge and slice them into smaller pinwheels. You should normally get about 12 to 14 slices per roll. You don’t need to be exact at all unless you’re hoping to serve a certain amount of people. Lay the rolls carefully swirl side up on the prepared baking sheets. If any of the cheese mixture falls out during this step, just sprinkle it back into the rolls.
8. Bake in two batches in the oven for 15 to 20 minutes until golden. Transfer to a serving dish or platter to serve.

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