Sunday, March 13, 2011

spinach cheese swirls my style!

I found this recipe at the back of the puff pastry wrapper. The look of this snack was so appealing. So I went on checking the ingredients. Here's the list of the ingredients:

1/2 of a 17.3-ounce package Pepperidge Farm® Puff Pastry Sheets (1 sheet), thawed
1 egg
1 tablespoon water
1/2 cup shredded Muenster cheese OR Monterey Jack cheese
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 green onion, chopped (about 2 tablespoons)
1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
1 package (about 10 ounces) frozen chopped spinach, thawed and well drained


Now I wanted to make some changes in the recipe..why? to become innovative? to create my own recipe and send it to food network? no...simple..I didn't have all of those listed ingredients lol..

I interchanged the following ingredients with things I found in my pantry:
Grated parmesan cheese --> Shredded mozzarella cheese
Chopped green onions --> chopped green onions and red onions
Garlic powder --> Minced garlic
Frozen spinach --> Bunch of fresh spinach leaves, chopped

The original recipe does not need any cooking prior to baking, but since I was using some fresh ingredients I had to do light the stove for few minutes.

Serves 4-5 people (yields approx. 20 wheels)

Method:
Step1:
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Heat 1 tsp oil in a pan and saute the onions, garlic and the spinach. Saute until the spinach is relieved of all its moisture. Allow it to cool.

Step2:
Unfold the pastry sheet in lightly floured surface (try unfolding the sheet while its half thawed, since the sheet becomes more sticky and difficult to unfold when fully thawed). Slightly roll the sheet to make it even. Spread the spinach mixture, and sprinkle the cheeses.

Step3:
Carefully roll the pastry sheet like a mat from the longer side of the sheet. Brush the edge of the pastry sheet with egg wash (prepared by mixing the egg and water) to firmly seal the sheet. Now cut the roll into 1/2 inch slices. There will be approx. 20 pieces.


(The spinach cheese swirls are kind of messed up bcoz the pastry sheet thawed completely and became sticky..so cutting the sheet was a challenge. Spreading the spinach mixture and cutting the sheet, before its completely thawed would help in cutting them in perfect shape.)

Step4:
Place the swirls in a baking sheet, brush them with the remaining egg wash,  and bake them in the oven for 15-20 mins.
Serve them hot plainly or with ketchup.


Note: Egg wash is optional. It makes the crust more brown and crunchier. Alternately to seal the edges of the pastry sheet paste of flour and water can be used.

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