Remember the easy sun-dried tomato pesto I made last week? This is just 1 of 2 recipes where the pesto was utilized, the other being a delicious grilled vegetable sun-dried pesto pasta. These puff pastry bites taste like a mini bite of sun-dried tomato pizza! Make sure you make plenty because they’ll all be gone in no time because it’s hard to stop once you start eating them.
They’re so easy to make and take just minutes to bake. With the help of store-bought puff pastry, 2-inch squares are cut, half a teaspoon of sun-dried tomato pesto is placed in the center and 2 asparagus tips are placed on top. Egg wash is added to 1 corner as a glue and the corners are folded to meet in the middle.
To get the finished look like it’s a package ‘tied’ around the middle, a thin strip of puff pastry is cut. Lay the strip across your hand and brush egg wash onto the ends. The ‘package’ is then placed upside down in your hand on top of the center of the strip. The ends are both brought towards the package and ‘glued’ using egg wash.
And there you have it – your nice, pretty wrapped up package!
The packages are lined up on a parchment covered baking sheet, brushed with the egg wash and baked. I like to mix a little milk in with my egg wash as it not only thins the egg and makes it easier to brush, the sugars in the milk help the brown the pastry and the egg helps to give it shine. Once they’re out of the oven, line them up like a pretty little chorus line and let your hungry guests go to town. These puff pastry bites are sure to impress even your most discerning guests! I’ve had many questions about what to do with the stalks that are leftover. For the edible section (down to the tough ‘woody’ part), chop and add them to soups, stews or stir fries. For the ends that are to tough to eat, add them to stock for soups and stews.
Asparagus, Ricotta and Mint Tartlets
