Puff Pastry Wraps- Celebrating Milestones

Communicooking has achieved a milestone. I got featured on Foodista.com as their Featured Blog of the Day on 20^th December. To be honest, I was quite elated! The Yaaaaaay was silent in my heart, because I really could not believe it! For many in the blogging world, this may not be such a big deal, but I am sure, a lot of the bloggers would identify with this moment that they too would have experienced at some point of time! Nevertheless, I was extremely excited, inspired and motivated, Thanks to Foodista!

And there was no better way to celebrate, except to do another post. In the current situation, where there are only 2 people eating, I am constantly worried with regards to excess food around the house- especially perishables like vegetables. In my weekend visits to my wonderland as Ak calls it (well, it’s the local grocery store- and I am like a little child, in a toy shop), Ak had suggested we pick Puff Pastry. I assume he was hoping for the Chocolat Twisties, but this week, being super chaotic at work- had not led to much of anything new worth writing about. I walked into my kitchen, and opened the fridge, and I could see so much stuff- and the puff pastry was going to expire soon! Usually, the basic fresh puff pastry pack is used in 2 batches, but since it was almost close to expiry date- I decided to have a puff pastry day!

I know that the traditional way of using puff pastry is to make it from scratch, and I used to quite enjoy the process, but in due course of time, I discovered this easily available option, at a very reasonable price. I therefore, choose to save my energy and time. The recipe that follows is inspired by a recipe I had come across on an IPad Baking App- Asparagus and Prosciutto wraps. Although this used Filo sheets, which are much thinner, in India, we don’t have easy access to those, and therefore I substituted it with Puff Pastry. I assume the results with Filo, would be marvelous though. The Prosciutto was replaced with salami- again due to expire soon in the fridge! I also modified it with a variation- since I had a lot of vegetables at hand, which I just could not throw away, as a result of which I had a vegetarian option for wraps as well. This can definitely be experimented with a lot of other fillings and many other shapes. I used a tart tin, to get a tart, and a simple open pizza slice as well (just a square topped with the filling). The results were fabulous and extremely satisfying; from savoury wraps to dessert (the post will follow soon), puff pastry goes a long, long way. In fact, soon there will be a post on puff pastry pizza. My tryst with puff pastry will not end here…

p.s. Ironically, The first post on this blog was also using puff pastry here. Seems like I am not bored yet. Life does come full circle, doesn’t it J and just to celebrate that- I did do a few twisties!

For the Asparagus Salami Wraps;

Puff Pastry

Flour

6-7 sticks of Asparagus (steamed until mildly tender for 5-6 minutes)

6-7 slices of Salami (if smaller slices, double the quantity)(also- the original recipe uses prosciutto- I used salami simply because it was available in the fridge)

Grated Cheddar Cheese (Can be replaced with mozzarella/ gouda etc.)

50 g Pesto Sauce ( I get mine fresh from a deli, but if one does not have any readily available, it can be replaced with another dip or even be done without)

Pepper/Herbs

Spread some flour on a flat surface or counter and Roll the Puff Pastry flat on a counter, thinning out as one goes along. Once it has been flattened out, cut squares, about 3-4 inches in size.

Place the salami slices in the centre, slightly overlapped. Then, place an asparagus stick, about 5 inches long, along the diagonal ends of the square. Add ½ teaspoon of pesto, and top with some grated cheese. Sprinkle some pepper or herbs. Now, diagonally roll the square, holding from one end to another. Line a baking tray and heat at about 200 degrees C until they turn golden brown.

For the vegetarian filling

About 250g Brocolli, with the florets cut out and steamed

1 Spring Onion, finely chopped

4-5 mushrooms, finely chopped

1-2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped

Olive oil               

Salt and Pepper

Heat the olive oil in a pan, and sauté the garlic for about 30-40 seconds. Add the mushrooms and let them cook for about 4 minutes. Add the steamed broccoli, and finally the spring onions. Add salt and pepper.

Use the same technique as described earlier, adding some cheese as well. Another recommended, variation that I personally love is with some ham and cheese. Enjoy!