UouMi: Rosie's Recipes: Savory And Sweet Suggestions For Spring

By Rosie Hawthorne on April 11, 2021

(Photos by Rosie Hawthorne)

By Rosie Hawthorne | Outer Banks Voice

For some reason(s) – COVID, isolation, cabin fever, inordinate amounts of rain, Zoom meetings, home schooling and its resultant spawn of day drinking – this spring has been a long time coming. Thankfully, spring is now here and I have some recipes to usher in this anticipated season.

This month, for your culinary pleasure, I’m working with puff pastry. Now, don’t worry – you can buy this flaky dough already made, although one’s life is not complete until one has made puff pastry from scratch. Puff pastry is a light, layered, buttery, multipurpose dough which can be used in sweet or savory dishes, in appetizers, main courses, and desserts. The key word here is “butter.” When you go to the frozen section of the grocery store to buy a package of puff pastry, read the ingredients label and be sure the main ingredient is, in fact, butter. I recommend Dufour puff pastry, available at Fresh Market. It’s the only pastry I can find on the beach with real butter as an ingredient, and listed as the first ingredient, which is as it should be, since ingredients are listed in order of volume. Other brands of puff pastry typically list flour as the dominant ingredient and contain oils, not butter.

Keep your puff pastry in the freezer until ready to use, then thaw overnight in refrigerator. Always keep the pastry cold. If the butter starts to melt or the dough gets limp, refrigerate it for 30 minutes or so to firm it up. Carefully unwrap pastry sheet. It will be folded into thirds in the package. To prepare for baking, slice the pastry into thirds, along the existing folds, then cut the three strips into fourths or sixths, depending on how big you want your final servings. Take a small knife and lightly score a border around the edge of each rectangle about ¼” from the outside, then prick the interior of the border with a fork. Bake the pastries at 400° about 15-20 minutes, rotating halfway through, until pastries are crisp and golden brown. Let cool a bit, then remove the interior pricked section so you can fill it.

I have two puff pastry presentations for you. The first is a savory asparagus canapé, which can be served as an appetizer or with the entrée. The second is a sweet fruit preparation which makes for a lovely dessert.

Asparagus and Puff Pastry

(Makes four appetizers.)
⅓ sheet of puff pastry, cut into fourths (Prepare and bake as instructed above.)
12 asparagus spears

To prepare asparagus, hold spear at bottom end and near middle, bend, and let it snap naturally. Discard bottom piece. Slice each spear into 3-4 pieces. Drop into boiling, salted water and cook for about 90 seconds. Immediately drain and plunge spears into ice water bath to stop cooking and set color. Drain and pat dry. Place several spears in each pastry shell then drizzle sauce over top. You could use a classic Hollandaise sauce here, but I’m going with a dill and cream cheese sauce with just a hint of mustard.

(Rosie Hawthorne)

Dill and Cheese Sauce

1 TB butter
1 oz. cream cheese
2 TB grated Gruyère cheese
1 TB lemon juice
½ tsp coarse Dijon mustard
1 TB cream
Combine all ingredients and heat until melted. Whisk until smooth.
Stir in 1 TB chopped fresh dill.
Pour sauce over asparagus in pastry shells and sprinkle with lemon zest. Add chopped pistachios, if desired

Fruit and Puff Pastry

Fill pastry shells with sliced strawberries.
Drizzle with chocolate sauce

Chocolate Ganache

¼ cup cream
⅓ cup bittersweet chocolate chips
Heat cream until very hot, not boiling.
Pour in chocolate chips and let melt. Stir until smooth. Pour over strawberries.