Green Olive Blue Balls
Backstory:
My best friend, Chris, is absolutely mad about blue cheese and green olives. For his birthday in 2022, he asked me to create him a dish focussing on these flavors. This is one of the dishes I came up with to satisfy that request.
Green Olive Blue Ball, Ingredients:
1 batch of 1 inch choux pastry puffs cooked and cooled
1 batch of blue cheese mousse whipped and loaded into a piping bag
40 pitted green olives
Method:
Remove the tops of all the puffs with a serrated knife, retain tops as they will be placed back on after stuffing.
Fill the bottom of each puff with blue cheese mousse.
Insert a single olive into each puff.
Fill the remaining space in each puff with blue cheese mousse via a piping bag with a star tip.
Replace puff hats on their respective puff.
Platter up and serve to your blue cheese and green olive loving friends!
Choux Pastry, Ingredients:
1 cup water
1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, cubed
1 cup bread flour
4-5 large eggs
1/2 tsp kosher salt
Method:
In a medium saucepan, combine water, butter, and salt. Slowly heat the mixture over medium heat, stirring often to melt the butter. Once butter is melted, increase the heat to medium high heat and bring the mixture to a boil.
When the mixture comes to a boil, remove the saucepan from heat and add flour all at once. Quickly mix the mixture with a wooden spoon until all the flour is absorbed.
Put the saucepan back on the burner and reduce the heat to medium. Cook the dough, continuously mixing with a wooden spoon. The dough will start to form into a ball. Keep mixing for another 3-4 minutes until light crust/film forms on the bottom of the pan.
Transfer the dough into the bowl of a stand mixer with paddle attachment and mix it for a few minutes on low speed until the mixture is at room temperature, about 2 minutes. Optionally, mix with what you've got!
Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. This will help to get egg absorbed into the dough quicker. The dough should be smooth and shiny, and leave a large V shape after a ribbon falls off the paddle or spatula. This is when you have to make the decision about whether you need the fifth egg.
Transfer the batter into a large piping bag and rest for at least 1 hour.
Preheat oven to 375°F (190°C) about 30 minutes prior to baking the choux pastries. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper, or silicone mats.
Pipe 1 inch rounds of dough onto the prepared baking sheets leaving enough room for a little expansion. Smooth out any peaks with a wet fingertip.
Bake, one baking sheet at a time, for 30-35 minutes, or until the shells are puffed up and golden brown. Do not open the oven during the first 25 minutes or you will cause the puffs to depuff.
After 30 minutes, working quickly, pull the baking sheet out and make a small slit on the side of each shell, using a small sharp paring knife. This should assist in drying the inside of the puffs and limit depuffing. Bake for another 5 minutes, or until shells are crisp and golden brown.
Transfer the shells onto a wire rack and cool completely before filling.
Blue Cheese Mousse, Ingredients
8 ounces blue cheese, Roquefort preferred
1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese
salt to taste
freshly ground black pepper to taste
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
Method:
Cream together the blue cheese and cream cheese. This can be done with a food processor (best), hand mixer, stand mixer with paddle or by hand if you need a workout. Remember to set these out ahead of time to soften or you will have a very bad time.
Add salt and pepper to taste. The salt will vary wildly by which type of cheese you use. Some blue cheeses like Roquefort are VERY salty while others are not. Add, taste and adjust until you are happy and remember this will be cut by some whipped cream after this step.
Whip the cream to soft peaks. Carefully fold the whipped cream into the cheese mixture.
Transfer mixture to a piping bag and chill.
Attributions: