Madhouse recipe : Cheese & Ham Christmas tree

Making a sweet or savoury Christmas tree out of a couple of sheets of puff pastry seems to be THE festive recipe of 2018, if my Facebook feed is anything to go by. When I needed a quick kid-friendly Sunday evening meal (there was some soup leftover for me and Madhouse Daddy) and looked in the fridge to see what was available, I decided to give it a go. It was dead easy and a great success - I've been asked to make a Nutella one next time ! I didn't base my version on a specific recipe and I think you could do this with all sorts of toppings - cream cheese and smoked salmon, minced beef, jam, crème fraîche and bacon, ... I used grated cheese and ham as it's what was in the fridge.

Cheese & Ham Christmas tree

ingredients :

2 sheets of puff pastry

4 slices of ham

a couple handfuls of grated cheese

a few sliced olives

milk/egg wash to brush over the top

Lay out the first sheet of pastry on a baking tray lined with baking parchment.

Slice ham into strips and arrange on top of the pastry.

Sprinkle with grated cheese.

Lay the second sheet of pastry on top and cut into a simple triangular Christmas tree shape.

Cut into 1cm strips without going all the way across the "trunk".

Gently twist the ends of the branches.

Don't worry if the filling splurges out - it will all melt when it cooks anyway.

Brush with milk or a little egg to help it go golden brown. I sliced up some olives and dotted them around as baubles.

I also rolled up the offcuts and cooked those too. Off to the oven for 10-15 minutes.

The kids were suitably wowed and have asked me to make another one. It's so simple, I think they can make it themselves next time !

This was great for using up some ham and grated cheese lurking in the fridge so I'm adding it to the #KitchenClearout linky.