ANCHOVY AND SESAME SEED STRAWS

Makes approximately 50.

You will need:

225g (8oz) puff pastry — chilled (see Rachel Recommends, right) Egg wash made from 1 beaten egg 2 tablespoons sesame seeds Approximately 24 anchovies Preheat the oven to 220°C, 425°F, Gas 7. Cut the puff pastry into two equal halves. Roll each piece out so that it measures 10cm (4in) wide and 40cm (16in) long — use a ruler to measure the pastry.

Brush one piece of the pastry with the egg wash and put three rows of anchovies onto the pastry — leave a gap of 1cm (½in) at each edge and 1cm (½in) between the rows of anchovies. Place the anchovies lengthways, and also place one where another ends, so that you end up with 3 long lines of the anchovies.

Put the second layer of pastry exactly on top of the first layer and seal them tightly with your fingers, both at the edge and between each row of anchovies. Brush the surface with the egg wash and sprinkle the sesame seeds all over it.

Put the pastry on a tray and refrigerate it until it is quite chilled. When it is chilled, trim just the tiniest bit of the pastry around the edges (discard this) and cut the pastry crossways into ½ cm( ¼in) strips. Place the strips on a baking sheet and cook them in a hot oven for 8-10 minutes until they are puffed up, golden brown and crisp. Take them out of the oven and allow them to cool.

These can be made in advance and placed on a parchment-lined tray, covered, and put in the freezer until they are frozen. Once they are frozen, if you need more space in the freezer, you can pile them all into a box or bag for convenience. Then whenever you want to bake them, just arrange them on a tray and put straight into the oven from frozen. They’ll take an extra minute or so to bake from frozen.