I was looking for a Mexican starter recipe for my friend’s dinner party and came across these on: http://www.averiecooks.com. I cooked them the evening before the party as I knew I wouldn’t have time to prepare them that evening. You can just pop them in the microwave for a minute or two to heat them up but they are best served straight out of the oven. They tasted really good but I think if I was making them again I would make them with a cheese that melts and goes stringy. Also I used a salsa that had chipotle and black bean flavours and it competed with the flavour of the cream cheese, but would probably work better with a less flavoursome cheese. I’m not the best at baking but these are so simple and require very little technique but the finish product looks impressive.
Ingredients
Makes 18 puffs
2 ripe avocados, mashed (1 tablespoon per puff)
1/3 cup cream cheese or manchego (1 teaspoon per puff)
1/3 cup salsa (1 teaspoon per puff)
3 sheets puff pastry (thawed as per the packet instructions if frozen)
1 egg beaten for glazing
Salt & pepper
Method
1. I made these in batches as I only had one baking tray but you can add multiple trays at a time if you wish. Pre-heat the oven to 200 degrees Celsius or 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Add a sheet of baking paper to the tray (s) and spray them with cooking spray to prevent the puffs sticking.
2. Flour your work-top and place your sheet of pastry on top. The original recipe said to roll it out as thinly as possible. I didn’t bother. Flour a sharp knife (stops the pastry sticking) and cut the sheet into 9 squares. you will use 6 squares for the first batch and then the remainder with the next batches.
3. Spoon a tablespoon of avocado, a teaspoon of salsa and a teaspoon of cheese on a square of pastry.
4. Top with another square of pastry.
5. Crimp the edges with a fork to seal the puffs.
6. Repeat this process with the remainder of the pastry and filling ingredients. Place the finished pastries on the baking tray.
7. Brush the pastries with the egg mixture and place in the oven.
8. Cook the puffs for 15-20 minutes until they are golden brown and puffed up. Check them 10 minutes into the cooking time just to make sure that they are not cooking faster than the mentioned time.
9. Remove from the oven and serve. I served 2 puffs per person.
delishuss
Delishuss Blog 