I am very fond of crackers so I prepare them quite often for my family (especially during the weekend). I must tell you that these salted biscuits with green pesto and parmesan were highly appreciated each time I took the time to prepare them! The aromas of basil, garlic and Parmigiano Reggiano are fabulous! The crunchy (crumbly) texture of these crackers is given by butter and pesto olive oil.
The dough should not be kneaded long because it becomes gummy and hardens after baking. The ingredients must be cold and everything is processed quickly by hand or by the robot. The cooling of the frozen dough, which is at least 2 hours in the refrigerator or 30 minutes in the freezer, must also be observed. It can be kept for 3-4 days in the refrigerator and you can bake small portions of biscuits.
The pesto I used was a green one which is prepared from fresh leaves of basil, garlic, pine seed, olive oil and finely chopped parmesan or pecorino. It can be bought in jars from all supermarkets.
The shape of these biscuits can be classic (long or narrow rods or rectangles) and can be obtained by stretching the sheet to 3 mm thick and cutting it with the roller. I chose to make 4-4.5 cm diameter discs cut from a dough roll.
Ingredients:
250 g white flour
75 g cold butter with min. 82% fat
1 yolk
20 g fine shaved parmesan or other cheese (eg pecorino)
75 g green pesto (from the jar)
½ teaspoon of salt
freshly ground black pepper
1 egg white for the biscuits
fine parmesan for decoration
Preparation:
- I put the flour and cold butter (cut into cubes) in a bowl. I added the finely chopped parmesan, salt and pepper. Taste pesto to see how salty it is and depending on the dose of salt, add more or less salt.
- I worked with my hands and quickly mixed these ingredients until I got some dough stuffing. I put the yolk and pesto and knead very little, just to tie the dough. If you have quality (dry) flour, it may take 1-2 tablespoons of cold water to compact the dough.
- Finally, I got a green dough, extremely aromatic and easy to work with (like plasticine). Taste it because you can now correct the seasoning of the dough!
- Immediately I molded the dough in the form of a cylinder (4-4,5 cm in diameter) and wrapped it in food foil (like biscuit salami).
- I put the dough roll to the fridge for 2 hours.
- I preheated the oven to 190 C with ventilation + heat up + down (medium to high gear with gas). I removed the dough roll from the fridge and cut the thick slices (approx.) About it. 4-5 mm.
- I arranged these salted biscuits with green pesto and parmesan in a tray lined with baking paper. Above I sprinkled finely chopped parmesan.
- I put the tray in the hot oven and baked these sauces with basil and parmesan for 20 minutes at 190 C (preheated oven). After 10-12 minutes you can turn the tray if your oven does not bake evenly. The baking time depends on the oven but also on the thickness of the biscuits. The very thin ones cook in 12-14 minutes, the medium ones in 20 minutes.
- Enjoy!