Recipe: Spinach Cheese Puff Pastry Swirls

This recipe is a combination of two recipes I saw that made these swirls. Paula Deen has a recipe… but I found hers to be bland and with both spinach and mushrooms the filling was too wet.…. and the other recipe from Pepperidge Farm… I didn’t care for the cheese combination … it was just a little off…. soooo with that said… here is my adapted recipe.

Keep in mind whenever you use cheese in a recipe… you need to consider the ingredients… different types of Swiss or Gruyere cheese will taste differently and you need to take into account you, your family and your guests’ tastes… some cheeses are sharper than others and will greatly affect whether it is a crowd pleaser or not….

I used Sargento Swiss blend shredded cheese… it contains Gruyere… it’s both economical and delicious… if you can’t find it or if you prefer… you can substitute Swiss or Gruyere.

And finally… consider the amount of salt, pepper and herbs you use… as well as what herbs you choose to include… if your meal is Italian… I would definitely add oregano and basil… and may even add more garlic… be creative!

Enjoy!



Recipe: Spinach Cheese Puff Pastry Swirls

All you need:

1 sheet frozen Puff Pastry (I used Pepperidge Farm),thawed
½ medium onion finely chopped
2 tablespoons butter
1 cup spinach, thawed and drained well
½ teaspoon garlic powder
¾ cup Sargento Swiss Blend shredded cheese
1 egg beaten with 1 tablespoon water (egg wash)
Salt to taste
Pepper to taste

All you need to do:

Thaw frozen puff pastry according to package instructions.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

In a skillet over medium high heat, melt the butter.

Add the onion and cook about 3 minutes or until onions are soft and translucent. Remove from heat.

Meanwhile, make sure you drain the spinach well… I press mine into a strainer to make sure all excess liquid is out.

Add the spinach, garlic powder and cheese to the onions.

Add the salt and pepper to taste.

Flour a work surface and roll out the puff pastry just to get the creases out.

Brush with the egg wash.

Spread the spinach mixture over the pastry.

Starting with the long side, roll up the pastry jelly roll style. It will look like a log.

Place the rolled pastry on a plate and refrigerate for 10-15 minutes (this will make cutting easier).

I measure my cuts… every ½ inch I make a slight cut along the rolled pastry.

Then, using a sharp knife, I cut the slices and place on the parchment paper-lined baking sheet.

Brush with egg wash.

Sprinkle with salt.

Bake at 400 degrees F, about 15 minutes or until golden.

Serve warm.