Just a little patience - Cañones de guayaba

I never learn.

I see something that I really-really like, I know it’s really-really hot, but because I’m really-really impatient I shovel it into my mouth with glee and pay my burnt tongue dues with a grimace, I mumble “I have just burnt my soul” and proceed to smile fulfilled.

Patience and the art of waiting are just not 2 of my traits and I always end up regretting it, but somehow manage to repeat the error time and time again.

Take these “cañones de guayaba” (guava cannons) I made a couple of weeks ago – I take them out of the oven smoking hot and without thinking I eat my way through one.

Ouch.

But I’ve always been like that.

I remember sitting in my grandparents’ kitchen for breakfast at this god-awful red linoleum table pushed against the counter; I would have climbed on a chair and fixed my eyes on the small toaster oven.

I knew what was about to come out of it and I knew I was going to love it.

Needless to say I was told several times to be careful, but I still whacked the piping hot food in my mouth and when my mum would look at me as if to say “I told you so” I’d put a brave face on.

To be honest, I’ve always been prone to tears and have a very low pain-threshold, but injuries obtained whilst cooking and/or eating don’t bother me in the slightest.

I call it “dedication to the cause”.

Anyway, not the point!

The point IS that I loved having guava cannons for breakfast when I was a kid and I loved it even more when my grandpa would get them out of the paper bag (no such thing as making them from scratch – I loved my granddad Lucho very much, but let’s just say that cooking wasn’t his thing), sliced them lengthwise, placed some queso blanco on top of the guava paste, closed the cannons up again and put them in the toaster oven.

And then I’d wait.

I’d jump up and down excited “Is it ready yet? Is it ready yet? Is it ready yet?” – God, I would have slapped me.

And then they’d come out oozing boiling hot milky and fruity juices and, man, did they taste good.

Sadly I’m yet to find a good substitute for queso blanco here in England (suggestions are most welcome!), but found that fresh goat’s cheese is ok even if not quite right, so just have it ready to put into the pastries as soon as you get them out of the oven!

Cañones de Guayaba

Makes 6

Basically, you can simply use the same pastry recipe I use here and then instead of filling the rolls with sausage and chorizo meat you can fill them with 300 grams of guava paste.

The rolls have to be around 15cm long and baked at around 180C (gas mark 5) for half an hour.

Eat, like I do, straight out of the oven and with added cheese.