Puff pastry snacks with smoked salmon and orange-zest flavoured ricotta cheese

• 10 minutes to prepare •  30 minutes to cook •  Serves 4

 

 

A pastry affair

Whoever first thought of encasing a tasty filling into a buttery envelope of flaky pastry dough was a genius.

I organised a dinner with friends recently and I decided on something quick and easy that could be enjoyed as an appetizer without too much effort in preparation – smoked salmon and ricotta cheese puff pastries.
I had planned to use some fancy shaped cutter to cut the puff pastry but in the end decided that with a round shape I’d get the most amount of filling inside without having to fiddle with the edges.
(Please read, I was too lazy to search for the cutter and I ended up using a simple drinking glass)

These little snacks are so amazingly easy to do, as well as great to prepare ahead.
Try to believe!



Here's what you will need for the 4-serving recipe:

250 g pack of puff pastry
100 g smoked salmon
125 g ricotta cheese
1 orange zest
1 egg
EVO oil
salt and pepper

1. Preheat oven to 220°C
2. Cut smoked salmon into little pieces and place it in a pan with 2 tablespoons of EVO oil. Let it braise until golden, then put it on a plate covered with paper towels to drain the excess oil
3. Place the ricotta cheese in a bowl, add the orange zest, a pinch of salt, freshly ground pepper and mix well. Add the salmon, too, and mix again
4. Cut out an even number of puff pastry circles and place half of them on a baking paper covered baking sheet
5. Place about 1 tsp full of the salmon mix on top of each circle, then cover the circles with their other halves
6. Using a fork, lightly press together the top and bottom halves of the pastries, then brush the tops with a bit of whisked egg
7. Place pastries on the lowest oven shelf and bake at 220°C (fan oven) for 25 minutes, until they’ve risen and the tops are golden brown. Leave to cool for a couple of minutes...and serve while still warm!

In the following, Nutrition Facts of this dish are indicated. Data is provided per serving.

I'm not a pastry cook, but I've had to learn a certain amount about it.
I'm not a baker, though I've had to learn how to do it. I'm sort of a general cook

(Julia Child)