April Bloomfield is a British chef, whose New York City restaurants The Spotted Pig and The Breslin have earned her two Michelin stars. She's revered by all gourmets, and it's pretty clear why. She was discovered years ago by Jamie Oliver and Mario Batali who scooped her up and brought her to New York, where she would blossom as a chef and create absolutely unforgettable dishes loved by laymen and critics alike.
She recently reopened a long-dormant restaurant called Tosca in San Francisco, and for the menu, decided to include a savory morning bun that would call to anyone passing by.
She prepared these buns for the Netflix show "Mind of a Chef." Watch below and her charming, easygoing manner (and those amazing-looking broccoli rabe and provolone buns) will win you right over.
If you want to make these amazing buns for yourself, follow the recipe by April Bloomfield below.
If you don't want to make the dough from scratch, we don't blame you - croissant dough is quite finicky and difficult, so we won't judge if you use crescent rolls, like in this recipe. However, be sure to follow Bloomfield's filling recipe to the letter.
Ingredients:
- 1 batch croissant dough
- 1 bunch broccoli rabe, thick stems trimmed and discarded (¼ pound leaves, florets, and thin stalks; the rest reserved for another purpose), roughly chopped
- 4½ ounces aged provolone, roughly chopped
- 3 medium garlic cloves, peeled and roughly chopped
- 1 tablespoon drained, stemmed, chopped oil-packed Calabrian chilies (about 3)
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 tablespoon Maldon or another flaky sea salt
Making the buns:
1. Working in batches if necessary, combine the broccoli rabe, provolone, garlic, chili, olive oil, and Maldon salt in a food processor and process, pulsing and stirring occasionally, to a chunky paste with no large pieces of garlic or cheese.
2. Preheat the oven to 475 F.
3.Roll the dough so it measures about 15 by 9 inches. You might need to wait a bit until the chill comes off so it's easier to roll, but don't let it get warm.
4. Spread the pesto evenly onto the dough, leaving a ½-inch border. Roll the dough the short way to form a 15-inch-long, 2½-inch thick log. Wet the fingers of one hand and run them along the seam, then turn the log seam side down and press down gently so the seam adheres.
5. If you're fussy like me, trim off the end so the sides are nice and straight. Cut the log crosswise in 1-inch thick slices.
6. Put the slices into muffin pan cups, pinching the bottoms so they fit and lightly pressing down so they touch the bottom of the cups. The dough will come about ¼ to ½ inch above the rim. Cover them with plastic wrap and keep them in a warm place.
7. Bake the buns in the center of the oven until they're croissant-golden-brown and crispy, 20 to 25 minutes. Gently pry them out of the tray and let them cool slightly on a wire rack.
