Shop bought, ready-made pastry is a fantastic solution which even experienced cooks (that’s me!) reach for very often. As long as, and I can’t stress that strongly enough, you buy good quality product, like Dorset Pastry or Maltby & Greek (not sponsored by either), with no more than five or six ingredients on the label and none of them weird chemicals or numbers.
Puff pastry is the most common to buy, because it’s such a chore to make it from scratch (not impossible, albeit the ‘rough’ kind). Make sure you buy all-butter puff pastry. Supermarkets have taken to putting the vegan version to the fore and, unless you’re one, it doesn’t remotely compare to all-butter pastry.
Shortcrust is much easier to make from scratch, especially if you own a food processor or a standing mixer. I do recommend it in most of my pastry recipes, but I completely understand the time pressures and the ease of opening a package and unrolling a pastry sheet.
And then there’s filo, which I personally wouldn’t dream of trying to make at home and it’s a very attractive and lighter on calories pastry solution.
Here’s my top 10 ready-made pastry recipes, both savoury and sweet.
Leeks and Cheddar are a wonderful combination. Caramelised leeks and grated, melting Cheddar on shortcrust pastry, whether homemade or shop bought, make a fabulous, easy dish, as good to serve warm as it is cold.
This is a brilliant dish, much better than just a plain old baked camembert without the croûte - crust. You can make the crust from scratch, but it will be as good a solution if you use good shop-bought shortcrust shell. It’s wholesome and filling enough to be served as a main course, with a green salad.
Now onto puff pastry, the most universally accepted shop-bought ingredient used by chefs. Fig and prosciutto tart with ready-rolled puff pastry takes about five minutes to prepare and twenty to bake. A divine, seasonal lunch or starter dish, best made with gorgeous Bursa figs.
Fig and prosciutto tart
RECIPE
What a splendid dessert you can rustle up with ready made all-butter puff pastry, whipped cream and sweet pistachio crumbs! Chantilly cream and pistachio mille-feuille, my easy version of the classic French, ‘thousand leaves’ dessert.
Pistachio and cream mille-feuille
RECIPE
Another puff pastry solution for brunch, lunch or supper: pear and bacon tart on puff pastry base spread with soft blue cheese. This tart is made with just four ingredients and assembled in five minutes. Quick, easy, delicious and seasonal too.
Shop-bought pastry, good burgers from the butcher’s: burger wellingtons with mushrooms and shallots wrapped in puff pastry are an easy version of beef Wellington. It’s a fancy dish for dummies, it might be your next Valentine’s Day dinner.
Upside down tomato tart with roasted tomato slices and puff pastry base is a variety of savoury tarte Tatin. This is nice and easy, made with shop-bought good quality puff pastry. Tomato slices are caramelised in the oven, then covered with a round of puff pastry. The only tricky bit is turning it out onto a plate.
Upside down tomato tart
RECIPE
Don’t you dare waste all those offcuts! Collect them scrupulously in a freezer bag to make a sweet treat when in dire need of one. Crunchy puff pastry bites sprinkled with cinnamon sugar are an irresistible way of using puff pastry offcuts.
Puff pastry sugar bites
RECIPE
Last but definitely not least: filo pastry. It’s gorgeous, it’s less heavy than shortcrust or puff (unless you really drench it in butter), and it’s easier to work with than it’s commonly believed. This chorizo and sweetcorn pie with a cheesy layer of ricotta and Cheddar mix is a delicious weekend family brunch dish or even a dinner party centrepiece since it’s perfectly good to prepare ahead.
Chorizo and sweetcorn filo pie
RECIPE
Empanada is traditionally a handmade dough pocket, deep fried. My recipe is a shortcut in many ways: with spinach and cheese filling wrapped in filo pastry and baked in the oven, with honey and pine nut topping. As good in filo as in handmade dough!