Delicious make ahead savoury profiterole appetizer to start your New Year”s celebration that pairs perfectly with a glass of bubbles or a Southern Hemisphere summertime beer! Speck is a traditional pork cut at the local butchers and similar to smoked bacon but generally is cured with spices such as bay leaf and juniper. Or use a bit of leftover Christmas ham or smoked chicken, or leave out all together and add a little touch of chilli paste instead!
Adapted from Vanilla Table @2013
Makes 2 dozen large
Ingredients
2 tbsp/30ml/1 fl oz vegetable oil
1 medium red onion, peeled and finely chopped
4 oz speck, bacon, or ham finely chopped
1 tsp fresh minced basil leaves or parsley, to taste
40 grams/1.5oz/5 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 ¼ teaspoons kosher salt
¼ teaspoon fresh ground white pepper
¼ tsp piementon or smoked paprika (optional)
¼ teaspoon ground mace or allspice
150grams/5 1/3 oz/1 cup bread flour
90g/ 3 oz/1 ¼ cup smoked cheddar cheese, finely grated
4 large eggs, room temperature
Egg wash for glazing, optional
Directions
In a small pan over medium heat add oil until hot. Add onion and cook until translucent. Add speck and cook until light brown. Stir in fresh herbs for a minute then remove from heat and drain mixture on paper towels. Set aside.
Preheat oven to 425°F. fan.
Add butter, salt, pepper and mace or allspice to 8 oz/225ml/1 cup water in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium high heat until butter melts. Turn heat to low and add the flour to pot all at once, stirring with a wooden spoon constantly until dough pulls away from sides of pot and flour is absorbed; about 1 minute. Turn off heat. Transfer dough to a stand mixer with paddle attachment and knead at medium low speed for 1 minute. Sprinkle in the cheese and speck mixture-reserving a bit of each to top gougeres before baking. Turn up speed to meduim and add eggs, one at a time, scraping down sides between each addition until smooth and shiny and when paddle is held up the dough holds a “V” shape.
Drop batter by spoonfuls or pipe without a tip into 1 inch-sized rounds on parchment or non-stick lined baking sheets. Brush with egg wash if wished and sprkinkle tops with a little of the cheese and speck. Bake for 15-20 minutes, until doubled in size, golden brown and light in weight. Serve warm or at room temperature. May be reheated just before serving or cool, then freeze in an airtight container for 1 month.