Cooking ham for Christmas / New Year seems to be a pastime in many part of the world, especially also in Australia. The challenge comes the day after, when there is so much ham left. One way of using ham in a different way is by baking Schinkengipfeli (Ham Croissants). I remember these from my youth and happened to have the chance to try making them on suggestion of my mother after Christmas (Dec 2021).
- 200g ham, diced into small cubes of about 5mm
- 1/2 bunch of parsley, cut very finely
- 150g Cream Quark (see below for alternatives)
- 1 tsp Wholegrain Mustard
- 1/4 tsp Salt
- some pepper
- 3 Puff Pastry sheets
- 1 egg
Cream Quark is a common dairy product in Europe. It is made of yoghurt and cheese cultures, but may be harder to find outside Europe. You might want to try Cottage Cheese or Ricotta instead. I have used Ricotta in the past and got quite good results.
- mix the Cream Quark with the mustard, ham and parsley and add the salt and pepper to your taste. The filling should be very much like a paste at this stage
- cut each puff pastry sheet into four squares and fill a generous amount of the ham/quark paste onto each square before rolling the pastry squares into croissants. (start with a corner and roll towards the opposite corner while compacting the filling; fold and close the edges to make sure the filling will not seep out while cooking
- beat the egg and brush the croissants with egg to give them a golden top (I did not do this as can be seen in the picture)
- preheat the oven to 220C and bake the croissant for about 18' in the middle of the oven
Comment: best served warm as an appetizer or with a salad as a full meal