For my UK perusers out there, these are actually similar to the ones from Greggs, however with a mysterious fixing they’re 10x more delightful. Definitely, I went there.
All up in my face. Gracious yes. Bacon and onion? That’s right. Cheddar and Onion? That’s right. Everything simply bodes well. Likewise, the pleasantness from the onions adjust the pungency of the bacon pleasantly.
To keep in subject of ‘brisk and simple’ I suggest making a major clump of caramelized onions, to make sure you can scoop them out as you need. So look at my full post on How to make Caramelized Onions.
One of your fundamental fixings is obviously puff baked good. Unquestionably keeping in with the subject here, we won’t make our own puff cake. That wouldn’t make for an advantageous after school nibble 🤣 As such, pre-produced using the store turns out great.
Ingredients:
Turnovers
- 1 sheet of Puff Pastry (see notes)
- 8 rashers of Streaky Bacon (see notes)
- 4 square slices of Sharp Cheddar Cheese, halved
- 1 Egg, beaten (for egg wash)
Caramelized Onions
- 1lb / 500g Red or White Onion, finely sliced
- 1 tbsp Balsamic Vinegar
- 1 tbsp Brown Sugar
- 1 tbsp Olive Oil
- Salt & Black Pepper, to taste
Instructions:
- Add 1 tbsp olive oil to a large frying pan over medium heat and add 1lb/500g sliced onions. Fry until they start to soften and caramelize (10-15mins), then add 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar, 1 tbsp sugar and salt & pepper to taste. Turn heat to low and continue caramelizing for another 20mins, or until super soft and sticky. The aim of the game is to fry low and slow, don’t let them catch and start to char at any point.
- Roll out your sheet of pastry on a floured surface and divide into 8. Take one section and slant it so a corner is at the top and bottom. Place a spoonful of onions in the centre, top with a slice of cheese, then a slice of bacon. Make sure the onions are hidden otherwise they’ll burn.
- Fold in one corner, gently wet with your finger, then fold in over the second corner. Very tightly pinch together so they don’t unfold in the oven, then brush with egg wash. See video for guidance on this section.
- Pop in the oven at 390F/200C for 15-20mins or until deep golden and crispy. Allow to rest and cool for 5mins, this will allow the final bit of steam to escape and help them crisp up (they might be slightly soft when they first come out).
Notes:
- Puff Pastry – The size you want the pastry (before dividing in 8) is 14″x9″ (35.5cmx22cm). The weight of each pastry sheet (before dividing) is 320g/11.3oz, so if you are buying puff pastry that is not pre rolled (i.e a slab of pastry) make sure you are using that much weight and roll out to the dimensions above.
- Caramelized onions – I recommend making a big batch of these in advance to save time, so do check out my full post on How to make Caramelized Onions! If you want to leave out the onions and just do cheese and bacon you can absolutely do that.
- Bacon – Streaky bacon is great because it’s quite thin, so it cooks at the same rate as the pastry. If you’ve got a larger/thicker cut of bacon consider frying for a couple of minutes before to part-cook it. Feel free to double up on the bacon if you wish – I just recommend slicing off some fat or using leaner bacon, otherwise the excess fat will make the insides go a little soggy.
- Cheese – As there is only a few ingredients, I recommend a nice strong cheddar to punch a bit of flavour in there. However, do use a cheese of choice if you’re not keen on sharp cheddar.
- Prep Ahead – Fold and leave off egg wash, then tightly cover in the fridge overnight. Brush with egg wash and pop in the oven, adding on a few more mins cooking time if baking straight from the fridge.
- Make Ahead/Freezing – Allow to completely cool then tightly cover in the fridge for 2-3days or in the freezer for up to 1 month. Reheat in the oven at 180C/356F straight from the fridge until piping hot and crispy again. Can also bake from frozen at the same temp, or thaw in the fridge and bake from there.
- Calories – Per turnover.
