The holidays are officially upon us. I have formally set my car radio to the “All-Christmas” song station and have watched at least 5 Holidays movies since Thanksgiving. I have butter and sugar piled high on my counter tops and can’t get the cookies out of the oven fast enough.
Ladies and gentleman. We are now in Holiday mode..buckle up.
Not only do I have sweets rolling out of my kitchen, I have them driving through as quickly as I’m trying to get them out! Insert very friendly-everyone loves-us neighbors and friends. Yes, we are blessed. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again..we do have the best neighbors. But seriously, my blood sugar has reached the ultimate peak and before I explode into a pile of skittles, I need something savory to get me through the next few weeks of these sugary baking days.
Which brings me to these bite sized beauties! One of my favorite little “tricks” to keep on hand is puff pastry! You can do so many things with the versatile pastry, and your friends will think you slaved in the kitchen for hours! The buttery pastry is easy to thaw and makes an assortment of dishes, such as tarts, or an easy crust for pot-pie or a fabulous party appetizer, such as these spinach-artichoke puff pastry bites! Another little gem I like to keep on hand is frozen spinach, which equals to nearly 6 cups of fresh spinach! Is that amazing? Frozen spinach is one of my favorite things to keep in the freezer and there are countless uses for the easy ingredient. You can throw it in pasta, soups, stews, make a Turkish spinach pie (which is coming up in a few weeks)or you can create a beautiful and elegant holiday appetizer!
What I love about frozen spinach is how much is packed in! You nearly get about 6 cups of fresh spinach for a fraction of the price. I think that is a double score.
So when Green Giant asked me to come up with a Holiday recipe with one of their products..you know I had to use their frozen spinach!
This is the easiest recipe you can make and perfect for your upcoming Holiday party. In addition to the frozen spinach, I also used Green Giant’s frozen asparagus tips. Both vegetables are simply steamed and they did all the work for me. All I did was defrost the veggies and pulse it in a food processor with other delicious pesto flavorings. The combination of spinach and asparagus is light and full of flavor and pairs perfectly with your favorite Chardonnay (just sayin’, we are in Holiday spirit, right?)
Method:
1) In a food processor, combine the spinach, asparagus, lemon olive oil, basil, Parmesan cheese, goat cheese and salt and pepper.
2) Pulse everything together until it forms a paste. You may want to add more olive oil if needed, but just like a pesto, use your eye to measure. Taste for seasoning.
3) Unwrap your defrosted puff pastry and lightly roll out so it stretches a bit. Then use a sharp knife to cut along the seam into 3 long pieces. Then cut each strip into quarters, so you will wind up with 12 squares.
4) Take each puff pastry square and place it into your muffin tin. (*Note: I used a mini muffin tin).
5) Next, use a teaspoon to scoop spinach asparagus mixture into the puff pastry cups. Then take the corners of the pastry and gently fold over and close.
6) Bake at 350 degrees F for 20 minutes or until the pastry begins to get golden brown. Then remove from oven and allow to cool a bit before serving.
Spinach-Asparagus Mini Puff Pastry Bites
Ingredients
- 1 sheet of puff pastry defrosted
- 1 9 oz. box frozen spinach I used Green Giant's spinach, defrosted
- 1 9 oz box frozen asparagus I used Green Giant, defrosted
- 2 Tb lemon zest
- 1/2 cup of fresh basil leaves
- 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
- 2 oz goat cheese
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Olive oil for drizzling in mixture (this depends on personal taste, but guesstimate 1/4 cup)
Instructions
- In a food processor, combine the spinach, asparagus, lemon olive oil, basil, Parmesan cheese, goat cheese and salt and pepper.
- Pulse everything together until it forms a paste. You may want to add more olive oil if needed, but just like a pesto, use your eye to measure. Taste for seasoning.
- Unwrap your defrosted puff pastry and lightly roll out so it stretches a bit. Then use a sharp knife to cut along the seam into 3 long pieces. Then cut each strip into quarters, so you will wind up with 12 squares.
- Take each puff pastry square and place it into your muffin tin. (*Note: I used a mini muffin tin).
- Next, use a teaspoon to scoop spinach asparagus mixture into the puff pastry cups. Then take the corners of the pastry and gently fold over and close.
- Bake at 350 degrees F for 20 minutes or until the pastry begins to get golden brown. Then remove from oven and allow to cool a bit before serving.
I was compensated for this post, but all delicious opinions are my own.
Rhonda says
December 18, 2013 at 4:42 pmI LOVE your Blog, always exciting and ur tips are precious tools for me, I will be making these for
my Christmas Potluck party, thanks Mahalo and Happy holidays to you Sam!
Carla says
December 18, 2013 at 7:26 pmI hear ya on needing savory! I keep eating cookies, so the health benefits of the spinach is exactly what I need to get me through the rest of the year 😉 (not to mention how much I love puff pastry)