'Jambons'

I don't know if 'Jambons' are only available in Ireland, but they are a very popular hot snack here. Puff/flakey pastry squares with a ham and cheese sauce filling, the corners folded in. Straight out of the oven the filling is like molten larva! 

They remind me of the Vol-au-vents my Mother made  in the 1970s and 1980s. Here is my version. Don't feel you have to make pastry, I like making pastry and find it easy, ready made puff pastry is fine.

Cheese Sauce

1oz butter

1oz flour

9floz milk

3oz grated cheese

1teaspoon smooth mustard

Jambons

Makes 8

Flakey pastry made with 12oz flour and 8oz butter or bought puff pastry

chopped ham

grated cheese

egg wash 

Make the cheese sauce first as it has too cool before you put it on the pastry.

Melt the butter in a saucepan and add the flour, cook over a low heat until the flour has absorbed the butter and started to go sandy. Remove the pan from the heat and add the milk an ounce at a time stirring well so there are no lumps. When all the milk is added return the pan to the heat and bring to the boil for a moment. Take the pan back off the heat and stir in the grated cheese, let cool for 5 minutes and add the mustard, taste and add more if you feel it is needed and leave to cool.

Preheat the oven to GM6, 200˚C.

Roll out the pastry and cut into 6 inch squares. Place the squares of pastry on baking trays and add the a tablespoonful of cool cheese sauce and some chopped ham, then add a little more sauce to each and a couple of extra bits of ham. Sprinkle with grated cheese and fold in the corners of the squares and squeeze together the new corners. Brush with egg wash and bake for about 15 minutes.

Leave too cool for 5 minutes before eating, we like them with salad. 

You can also see a mushroom version in the photos.

I cooked a small punnet of mushrooms and some garlic in butter added them to some parsley sauce and sprinkled some cheese on top like the ham ones.