MUSHROOM & PROSCIUTTO PINWHEELS
I discovered the joy of working with puff pastry late in life. It can be used for so many things—turning your chicken stew into a potpie, making a quick apple galette, or creating the classic Baked Brie en Croûte. If you want to be a hero, you can certainly make your own, but really, who has that much time? You can easily find puff pastry sheets in your local grocery freezer section.
I first made these simple pinwheels when I found some leftover pizza toppings in my fridge. It’s a great hors d’oeuvre and you might want to think about doubling the recipe because they’ll be gone nearly as soon as you set them down.
INGREDIENTS
1 sheet frozen puff pastry
Flour for rolling out pastry
2 tablespoons olive oil
¼ cup prosciutto, diced
½ shallot, diced
6 mushrooms, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
¼ cup Parmesan cheese, finely grated.
1 egg, beaten
Salt and pepper to taste
PREPARATION
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Defrost the puff pastry sheet as per directions on the box.
In a skillet, heat olive oil. Sauté prosciutto and shallots for two minutes, add mushrooms and garlic, and continue sauté for three minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Turn off heat and mix in half of the Parmesan cheese. Set aside.
On a floured surface, roll out puff pastry, keeping rectangular shape, just enough to thin out a bit.
Spoon out mushroom mixture on top of pastry. Using an offset palette, spread mixture until the pastry is covered with a thin layer, leaving ½ inch border without mixture on one of the shorter sides.
Wet your finger with water and run it down the border.
Moving from the other end, roll up the pastry. Pinch the border to seal closed.
Using half of the beaten egg, brush it over the pastry roll. If the pastry has warmed up too much and is very soft, place the roll in the refrigerator for 20 minutes.
Remove roll from refrigerator. Cut 16 slices, as if you were cutting a Toll House cookie roll, and place slices on a greased baking sheet or Silpat. Brush slices with the other half of the egg wash. Sprinkle remaining Parmesan cheese on top of each piece.
Bake for 15 – 20 minutes until golden brown. Let cool for five minutes before plating.