This month’s trends, including 30-minute za’atar croissants, top buys for Father’s Day, and Gennaro’s lasagne

The French classic gets a Middle Eastern makeover – our cheat’s recipe is ready in 30 minutes

HOT TREND

Awell-made plain croissant is a fine thing, but a red rag to an inventive baker. Bakeries all over the globe have always had fun adding flavours to croissants, and recently the ante has been upped. We’re not talking stuffing them with fillings like sandwiches, but baking all kinds of ingredients into the dough. Find them filled with real bacon pieces and maple syrup at Pophams Bakery in London (@pophamsbakery), twice-baked with a decadent coconut and almond frangipane centre and white chocolate pandan ganache at Lune Croissanterie in Melbourne (@lunecroissant), or doused with fruit pebbles, funfetti or given the red velvet treatment at Union Fare (@unionfare) in New York. Cheese and pastry have a natural affinity with each other, so we’ve added cheddar and parmesan to this recipe for a hit of savouriness, and some za’atar spice mix inspired by Lebanese restaurant Comptoir Libanais (@comptoirlibanais).

For our quick cheat’s method, we’re not advocating making the dough from scratch (though if you fancy it, you’ll find a recipe on bbcgoodfood.com). Instead, thanks to some handy shop-bought croissant dough (use a sheet of puff pastry and cut into six triangles if you struggle to find it), you can have these ready in 30 minutes.