While December brings lots of excitement for the holiday season ahead, it also brings my #AppyHolidays series back to my blog! For those who are new here, #AppyHolidays is a mini blog series where I post a brand new holiday appetizer every week! This year, I am posting on Tuesdays so that means you will see FIVE new holiday appetizers this month! This is my fourth year running this series on my blog and I am still coming up with tons of great recipes. Be sure to check out some of my existing holiday appetizer recipes in my Appetizers tab for more inspiration! ❤️🎄
For my first #AppyHolidays recipe, I’m sharing my Spinach & Red Pepper Puffs! These make a great vegetarian appetizer to serve during the holiday season!
Puff Pastry is a Holiday Staple
Puff pastry appetizers are a staple during the holidays since it is so versatile and fun to work with! Buying store-bought puff pastry is the easiest way to go since making puff pastry from scratch is so laborious. There are also so many varieties to choose from these days at the grocery store. You can find puff pastry in the frozen section near the frozen pie crusts and tart shells.
The convenient packages have puff pastry sheets pre-rolled so you don’t even have to get out a rolling pin for most recipes! Again, it’s so convenient and the recipe possibilities are endless!
The most important thing to remember when working with puff pastry is to keep it cold as long as possible. Otherwise, the butter inside the pastry melts and it won’t puff up in the oven as much as it is supposed to. So when you’re making these Spinach & Red Pepper Puffs, be sure to work fast with the pastry, or pop it in the refrigerator or freezer to get it to cool down again.
The Most Festive Filling
These Spinach & Red Pepper Puffs may quite possibly have the most festive holiday colours. Green from the spinach, red from the roasted red pepper, and white from the feta cheese bring all the famous holiday colours together. Plus, when it’s wrapped in a golden puff pastry, these Spinach & Red Pepper Puffs are truly fit for the season.
You can prepare the filling a day in advance of making these Spinach & Red Pepper Puffs, to make things easier on you during the holidays. Alternately, you can even go as far as assembling them and brushing them with eggs wash and topping with sesame seeds and freeze them to cook off later. This is a great shortcut since all you need to do it take them out of the freezer, pop them in the oven and cook from frozen! It’s so convenient for when you have guests pop by, or when you get a craving for these as well!
Stay Tuned for More #AppyHolidays Recipes
I hope that you enjoy this recipe for Spinach & Red Pepper Puffs this holiday season! Don’t forget to tag me on Instagram or Facebook if you make them with the hashtag #SeasonServeBlog
I will see you back here next Tuesday for another holiday appetizer recipe! Enjoy! ❤️🎄
Get the Recipe!
Spinach & Red Pepper Puffs
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1/4 cup shallots finely chopped
- 1 garlic clove finely chopped
- 1 pound fresh spinach leaves
- 1/2 cup roasted red bell pepper finely chopped
- 3/4 cup feta cheese
- 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 puff pastry sheet rolled to 8x10 inches
- 1 egg
- 1 tablespoon water
- 1 tablespoon black sesame seeds
- 1 tablespoon white sesame seeds
Instructions
- Heat a large frying pan over medium-high heat. Once hot, add the olive oil and shallots. Fry for 2-3 minutes until the shallots begin to soften and turn translucent. Add the garlic to the pan and cook for another 30 seconds. Transfer the shallots and garlic to a large mixing bowl and set aside.
- Add the spinach to the hot pan. Stir the spinach often so that it wilts down but does not burn. Once the spinach has cooked, transfer to a strainer lined with paper towel. Place the strainer and spinach in the refrigerator to cool for 20 minutes.
- While the spinach is cooling, add the roasted red pepper, feta and ground black pepper to the shallot mixture. Also, whisk the egg and water together to create an egg wash and set aside.
- After 20 minutes, the spinach should be cooled. Drain any excess water from the spinach by pressing the spinach firmly in your hands. You want to get out as much water as possible so that the puff pastry doesn't get soggy.
- Once most of the water has been removed from the spinach, roughly chop it into smaller pieces using a sharp knife and add it into the mixing bowl with the rest of the ingredients and mix to combine. Set aside for now.
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Line a baking tray with parchment paper and set aside.
- Unroll the puff pastry onto a flat work surface and use a rolling pin to roll the pastry into a 8x10 inch rectangle. Use a sharp knife to cut the puff pastry in half lengthwise so that you have two long rectangular panels.
- Place the spinach filling down the centre of the panels, dividing the filling evenly between the two panels of puff pastry. Gently press the filling together to hold it's shape.
- Brush the long edges of the puff pastry with the egg wash to help seal the puff pastry. Then gently roll up the puff pastry to create a long log. Gently press to seal the edges. Repeat for the other puff pastry panel.
- Use a sharp knife to cut the puff pastry on an angle into 1-inch slices. Place each puff pastry on the parchment-lined baking tray about 1 inch apart. Brush the tops and sides with the egg wash and sprinkle over the black and white sesame seeds.
- Bake in the oven for 25-30 minutes, or until the puff pastry has turned golden brown on the top and on the bottom. Let cool for 10 minutes before serving and enjoy!
