Puff pastry wheels with Traditional Genovese Pesto
Prep: 40 minutes
Cook: 20 minutes
Cook: 20 minutes
Easy
Serves 4 people
This savoury snack can be made quickly with shop bought puff pastry and depending on how its cut, can be served at different times of the day. The Traditional Genovese Pesto is the ideal foundation block for building on, as you can add to it whatever you might have available. Extra cheese, anchovies, mushrooms, rocket all work so don’t be afraid of trying different combinations out.
Ingredients
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325g rolled puff pastry, ideally made with butter
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2 red onions, peeled and finely sliced
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150g spinach, washed and dried in a salad spinner
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3 pinches table salt
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3 tbsp olive oil
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½ jar Traditional Genovese Pesto
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12 Semi Dried Tomatoes, drained of oil
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Method
- Step 0: Put a medium sized pan on a medium heat, add 2tbsp of olive oil and when hot, add the red onions and 2 pinches of table salt and cook till softened and sweet, around 10 – 15 minutes, turning the heat down if the onions start to burn. Remove from the pan and allow to cool.
- Step 1: Using the same pan, turn the heat up to high and when hot, add the spinach and a pinch of salt, cooking quickly whilst moving it around the pan with a wooden spoon. When just wilted, remove from the pan and allow to drain in a colander or sieve. When cool, squeeze between your hands to extract as much water as possible, then roughly chop and set aside.
- Step 2: Preheat an oven to 190C fan / 200C non fan. Line a medium roasting tray with baking paper.
- Step 3: The next steps need to be done quickly, keeping an eye on the temperature and softness of the puff pastry. If it becomes too soft to work with at any time, put it back into the fridge to cool again.
- Step 4: Roll out the pastry on a cutting board and spread evenly with the Green Pesto. Next scatter the onions, spinach and tomatoes around the lower half of the pastry (the side that is closest to you). Now begin rolling the pastry up, starting with as tighter loop as possible. Once rolled, you might need to return the pastry to the fridge before cutting. Using a sharp knife, cut the pastry at 4 cm intervals. Arrange the wheels on the roasting tray with equal spacing, allowing some room for them to expand into each other. Bake for 10-15 minutes to rise, then turn the oven down to 160C fan/170C non fan and bake for further 5-10 minutes till golden brown. Remove from the oven, allow to cool a little, then serve.
