Savory cronut - or dossant - fun vegetarian recipe

It started as a joke, really.

We listen to the radio when we're working and I remember the day when we heard reports about a new pastry shop craze. The cronut.

I could tell by the look on his face that he was interested. 'Mmmm...' he muttered as I looked up the recipe.

Oh no. The cronut, I discovered, is a sweet doughnut-shaped confection made by deep-frying croissant dough.I'd actually quite like to have him around for a few more years if possible so I steadfastly refused to cook up a plateful of cholesterol.

But as a joke, I decided to make a healthier, savory version.

It was a big hit. Ever since, I've been making these regularly. They are incredibly easy to make (like all my recipes) and are very quick to prepare using a blend of my favorite convenience foods and fresh ingredients.

What started as a joke has now become a regular dinner in our household and served with salad, I can quite easily persuade myself that it's healthy too.These make a lovely vegetarian dinner or lunch when served with a simple salad. I imagine that these are very tasty when served cold too - but we always eat them up as soon as they come out of the oven!

Photographs © BritFlorida.

Makes eight cronuts.

• 1 tube crescent dough
• ½ can organic tomato sauce
• ½ cup pitted black olives, sliced
• 1 oz. soft goat cheese
• 1½ oz. blue cheese
• 3 scallions | spring onions
• Salad leaves
• 1 tablespoon sour orange (naranja agria)
• Black pepper

PREPARE THE DOUGH

Preheat the oven to 350°. Remove the dough from the tube (the way it pops is always fun!) and prepare a board or your counter top by flouring it lightly. Divide the dough into eight equally sized pieces and roll them into rough balls.

Do this quickly so that you don't press the air and lightness from the prepared dough.

SHAPE THE CRONUT BASES

With your hands, shape the dough into circles on a floured board. Using an empty (clean) wine bottle or similar create a hole in each dossant using the bottle as a cookie cutter. Place these on an ungreased cookie sheet or a baking tray and put into the oven.

Leave a little room between each as they will expand as they cook.

THE FILLING

This takes only a minute to make. Take two small bowls. With scissors, snip the top ends, the thin ends. of the onions into one bowl. These are for garnishing the dish. Snip the remainder into the other bowl. Pour in the tomato sauce, the sliced olives a grind black pepper into the bowl and mix together.

PREPARE THE CRONUTS

Remove these from the oven when they are cooked - this takes about 12 minutes but check the directions on the tube.

Split each one in half lengthwise once they are cool enough to handle.

Put them back onto the cookie sheet, placing the upper half underneath the lower half to keep them warm.

CHEESE

Separate the goat cheese into eight equal pieces. Spread one piece onto each cronut.

SAUCE

Top with the tomato sauce.

Add the 'lids' and place back into the oven until the sauce is warmed through.

This takes about five minutes.

SALAD

While they are in the oven, mix the sour orange into the salad greens.

BLUE CHEESE

Just before you take the cronuts out of the oven, grate the blue cheese and sprinkle over the top. Put them back into the oven until the cheese melts.

Sprinkle with the chopped onion and serve with the salad and a glass of wine! Be sure to raise a glass to those who might well be enjoying a new taste sensation but are clogging their poor arteries in the process - cheers!

Of course. I'm joking about the cronut being so damaging to health. As they say, a little of what you fancy ... and there's nothing wrong at all with having the occasional treat.

But eating for our health is important. That doesn't mean that we should deprive ourselves of good food - quite the contrary. Healthy food is delicious food.

I do try to keep a vigilant eye on what we eat and I'm sure it pays off.