Wednesday was my last pottery class this quarter and we had a potluck. I was thinking about bringing something easy to make, easy to transport, easy to eat even without plates and utensils and came up with these savory puff pastry squares. All you need is a package of puff pastry sheets (I use Pepperidge Farm), soft goat cheese, some vegetables and mushrooms and no more than 45 minutes of your precious time including baking.
If your puff pastry dough is frozen, thaw it first as indicated on the package. As a rule, it takes about 8-10 hour in the refrigerator or 40-45 minutes at room temperature.
Preheat the oven to 400F.
On a floured counter, gently unfold the puff pastry sheets and dust with some flour. With a rolling pin, lightly roll the sheets out just to smooth the cracks after unfolding. With a sharp knife or a pizza cutter, cut each sheet into 9 squares.
Place the squares on a baking sheet lined with a piece of greased parchment paper or a silicone mat. Take a round or square cookie cutter that is smaller than the puff pastry squares and press it lightly on top of each square to create rims. If you don’t have cookie cutters, use an inverted thin-rimmed glass.
Pierce the inner circle/square with fork several times and put a topping. Brush the rims with an egg mixed with a tablespoon of water. Put the baking sheets into the oven and bake the squares for about 14-16 minutes or until the rims get golden brown. Serve warm or cold.
I used two toppings this time: one consisted of a dollop of soft goat cheese spread on the bottom, small blobs of olive tapenade, a bit of sautéed onions, a strip of roasted pepper, a halved cherry tomato and pinch of salt and black pepper on top. After baking, I drizzled the topping with basil oil, for which I put a handful of fresh basil leaves and about half a cup of olive oil in a food processor, pulsed until smooth and seasoned with salt.
For the other topping, I sautéed some shiitake mushrooms I happened to have in the fridge. I spread some soft goat cheese in the center of each square, topped it with sautéed onions and mushrooms and finished with finely chopped fresh rosemary leaves, crumbled gorgonzola cheese and pinch of black pepper. You can drizzle the top lightly with balsamic vinegar if you feel like it.
You can make these squares sweet as well, like my little pear pastries here.
Comments