Gougeres filled with sliced ham and chimicurri creme

Soft little mounds of flavor that pop in your mouth. A different take on some traditional ingredients.

Gougéres
Recipe from The Tartine Bakery Cookbook
Makes about 30

• 1 ¼ cups non-fat milk
• 140g unsalted butter
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup all purpose flour
• 5 large eggs
• ¾ cup Gruyére cheese, grated
• 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 tablespoon fresh thyme, minced

Topping
• Pinch salt
• Grated Gruyere, for sprinkling

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F). Line a baking sheet with non-stick baking paper.
2. To make the choux pastry, combine the milk, butter and salt in a heavy saucepan and place over medium heat until the butter melts and the mixture comes to a full boil. Add the flour all at once and stir vigorously with a wooden spoon. Keep stirring until the mixture has formed a smooth mass and pulls away from the sides of the pan. This should take about 3 minutes.
3. Transfer to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Add the eggs one at a time and mix on medium speed, incorporating each egg before adding the next. The mixture should be thick, smooth and shiny.
4. Remove the bowl from the stand mixer, add the cheese, pepper and thyme and mix in with a rubber spatula. Use a teaspoon or small ice cream scoop to drop the dough onto the prepared baking sheet, spacing them about 4-5cm apart. Lightly sprinkle the top of each pastry with grated cheese and a small pinch of salt.
5. Place in the oven immediately and bake for 20-25 minutes, or until they have puffed and are nicely browned. Serve hot or warm, or at room temperature. Or they can be cooled completely and re-crisped in the oven for 5 minutes before serving.

Chimichurri

2 cups fresh parsley and cilantro, firmly packed
1/4 cup fresh oregano leaves
3 cloves of garlic roasted
2 tablespoons chopped onion
1/2 cup olive oil
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar or plum vinegar
1 tablespoon lime juice
Salt and red pepper flakes to taste

Preparation:
Pulse the garlic and onion in the food processor until finely chopped.
Add the parsley and/or cilantro, and oregano if using, and pulse briefly, until finely chopped.
Transfer the mixture to a separate bowl. Add the olive oil, lime juice, and vinegar, and stir. (Adding the liquids outside of the blender gives the chimichurri the correct texture. You don't want the herbs to be completely puréed, just finely chopped).
Season with salt and red pepper flakes to taste; store in the refrigerator until ready to serve.

When you are ready to serve, mix in equal portions, with mascarpone or ricotta.