Spinach and Ricotta Puff Pastries

Puff pastry goodness designed to make you think you're "eating healthy". 

I had to think of ways to get some spinach (or vegetables, in general) into my husband's diet. He took the bait. Another snack item that was primarily made as an easy grab for lunch but was on the brink of getting consumed too quickly. Thankfully, I was able to stash a couple of pieces in our take-along boxes before we edged closer to finishing them.  

As you may have already figured out, I love flaky pastry. Anything I can make with them - I will. If you want to see a couple other flaky pastry options, you can view the following recipes: Puff Pastry Sausage Rolls and Salmon Wellington. I still have yet to make my own puff pastry dough though. As of now, I rely on the craftsmanship of others for their pastry production. And I thank them and technology for that. 

You can pretty much put anything in puff pastry and you'll be sure to enjoy your snack or meal. With these pastries, I opted to add some ricotta cheese to up the protein content. If you wanted a more greek version (like a Spanakopita - these use phyllo dough for this though), add some feta cheese. It will definitely add to the salt content so probably lessen the measurement of your cheddar cheese. Or you can omit the cheddar cheese altogether. 

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Spinach and Ricotta Puff Pastries
This will make 12 pastries. You could also make them small pockets, making 9 smaller ones instead of 6 per puff pastry sheet. 

You'll need a rolling pin, a chopping board, a bowl, spatula, and a couple of baking sheets. You can also use a baking mat (if you have) or parchment paper. 

Ingredients
2 puff pastry sheets, room temperature (take it out 1-2 hours if frozen)
1 1/2 cups frozen chopped spinach (defrosted and drained)
*if you’re using fresh spinach, just blanche it and chop enough to make 1 1/2 cups cooked spinach
3/4 cup ricotta cheese
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1 egg, large
1 tsp garlic powder
salt and pepper

Optional: 
1/4 cup crumbled feta cheese

1 medium tomato, sliced

1 egg, large, beaten for egg wash


Procedure
1. Preheat the oven to 400℉ (or check the packaging of your puff pastry sheets). Make sure your puff pastry sheets are at room temperature. Roll out the puff pastries and roll until it’s increased to 1 inch per side. For each sheet, slice into 6 equal square segments.
2. In a bowl, mix all the ingredients together until well-incorporated (and the feta cheese if you opted to add this).

 

3. Spoon 1-2 tbsp of the spinach mixture to a corner of one of the segments (spread to form a triangle in the corner). Leave some space on the edges so you can seal it later on. Continue doing this for all other segments.

4. If you opted to add tomatoes, add a slice on top of each mixture.

5. Brush the edges of the pastry with egg wash, close the opposite corner and cover the mixture. Seal the edges with a fork. Continue doing this for all other segments until you have 6 identical triangles.
6. Transfer the pastries to a baking sheet. Brush the top of each pastry with egg wash.
7. Bake for 12 minutes or until golden brown.

8. Enjoy! These are especially yummy when freshly baked. Just allow this to cool for at least 5-7 minutes so the cheese don't burn your tongue. 

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*If you want some spice, add a 1 tsp of chilli flakes. I can't add any spice to mine since my husband's allergic. 

**There are so many ways to enjoy puff pastries. You can make make ton of these and take them out to a picnic or serve them in your next potluck or holiday event. Even if you don't have an event, you can make a whole batch of these and freeze them. That way, you can pop them in the oven or toaster when you're hungry. Such an easy take-along snack!

***Because my husband generally doesn't "choose" vegetables, this was one way to get him to eat spinach. So for those who have the same obstacle with their loved ones, give this a shot. You can even add some kale, chopped up collard greens, artichoke, asparagus, carrots, peas, and corn. They'll never know as long as you slap on some cheese!

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