SippitySup

Savory Palmiers beg the question. Have you ever been to Paris?

One of my greatest associations with that great city is the great many boulangeries sprinkled throughout every neighborhood. What a joy it is to walk past these places inhale deeply and take a quick peek in the window at the array of delicious baked goods. There is no experience quite like it in this country. Somehow we have grown into a carb-abhorrent, gluten-fearing mass of cowering humanity. We have come see food as the enemy.

But not the Parisians, they embrace life and all its flavors, it seems to me. I am sure the reality is more complicated. But when I am in Paris I have very little interest in reality.

The first time I walked those streets it was the 1980s. I was quite young and a tad romantic; armed with just enough French to feel cocky I decided to conquer all the sights, sounds and yes, flavors I could in one brief two day visit. One of the first stops was indeed a boulangerie. Now, I was no patsy to the ways of French pastry. My mother had been making brioche at home since my childhood. But all the unusual bread shapes struck me: baton, bloomer, boule, epi, ficelle, fougasse, pistolets…the list seemed endless.

On that first trip the treat I settled upon the simplest and most iconic of yeasty prodigies– a baguette sliced lengthwise and stuffed with gooey Camembert cheese. Oh my! What a sensation that was. But that is another story for another day.

Because we are here to discuss another treat entirely. One with which I became acquainted on my second stop at an authentic Parisian boulangerie (which was about 20 minutes and a block and a half later than my first foray). Because one of the most visually stunning pastries to grace the windows of each and every boulangerie I passed was what I soon came to know as le palmier.

My first palmier was sweet. Sugar and cinnamon rolled between layers of the flakiest pastry you can imagine. I spied it through the glass of the shop. It was bigger than my hand and dotted with caramelized sugar that had been heated to a crackly candy like crunch! Of course there was the distinctive shape. Some say they resemble elephant ears. Some say the name comes from its resemblance to a palm frond. I say, who cares… May I have another please?

Because this simplest of French pastry is a marvel of taste and texture. It requires good puff pastry to be sublime, but in truth there is no such thing as a bad palmier. Because its leading component is that other great American nemesis– butter!

Something magical happens as the butter melts in well-prepared pastry dough. The water trapped within becomes steam as it heats. The steam rises, forcing each layer upward. This makes for a final product with a million flaky layers that you never would have guessed were there when you rolled that dough out. In a palmier these layers are rolled into even more layers– which are lined with just about any delicacy you can imagine.

As I mentioned my first palmier was monstrously huge and very sweet. Today I am presenting a petit, savory palmiers with Dijon mustard, prosciutto and Parmesan cheese.

I used leftover homemade pastry dough. Hence the rather lopsided shape you see rolled out on my counter in the pictures. My pastry rolling skills are in need of a refresher course! But you could easily make this with prepared store-bought dough. But I warn you… buy quality dough. There is a rather well-known brand out there that is very disappointing in my opinion! It is loaded with all sorts of mystery fat so read the label before you buy. Look for a brand that only uses pure butter. If you can find Dufour it is made with only quality French butter and it is frankly better than I can make at home. Not that I am an expert…

I envision this as a spectacular appetizer, perfect with a martini or perhaps a very dry aperitif. Serve them piping hot straight from the oven for the greatest effect. But room temperature or a day old is still delicious because as I said earlier there is no such thing as a bad palmier!

Savory Palmiers with Prosciutto, Parmesan & Mustard makes 36 CLICK here for a printable recipe