Crispy puff pastry stuffed with broccoli and spinach mixture is an incredibly yum and delectable pastries – a perfect finger food for a party and seriously delicious. You can’t go wrong with this combination. This happens to be my favorite recipe for two reasons – firstly, they make a great make-ahead appetizer and secondly, even the picky eaters will eat broccoli and spinach without a fuss! This recipe uses puff pastry sheets. Puff pastry can be found in your freezer section next to pies or frozen treats. Puff pastry sheets is not to be mistaken for phyllo/filo sheets. They are both different. In puff pastry sheets, fat is layered in between the sheets of dough which puffs and becomes flaky during baking. On the other hand, phyllo/filo sheets doesn’t have much fat and it’s sheets are very thin which do become flaky during baking but do not puffs. But filo/phyllo sheets CAN BE USED instead of puff pastry sheets in this recipe. Have you worked with puff pastry sheets before then you know the tricks on how to handle it? If not, no worries follow these tips below –
Thaw the sheets ahead of time. Flatten the sheets using a rolling pin. If the sheets feel sticky, dust the top of the sheet with a little flour and start rolling. Do not overfill or stretch the sheets. This will lead to holes and the puffs will open during baking. Seal and secure the edges perfectly and bake. These puff pastry puffs can be made in advance. Stuff and seal puffs, cover with foil or plastic wrap and refrigerate. When ready to bake, brush with butter and bake as directed.
I had a bag of spinach and frozen broccoli sitting in my refrigerator, so I used this combination. But there are a lot of yummy variations that you can try –
Potato and pea filling Corn and black bean filling Tomato and basil filling with cheese Meat lovers substitute veggies with meat.
Basically if you have puff pastry and any of the above ingredients on hand, then you can make this appetizer in a jiffy. Make sure the filling is completely cool before you add cheese or else the mixture will become gooey. Can be served with a salad, as an accompaniment to a soup or as an appetizer for a light dinner. Try these cheesy broccoli and spinach puffs and they will immediately become your family favorites too!
