Spinach in Puff Pastry

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, I totally have a food crush on Ina Garten aka The Barefoot Contessa. It may even be more than a food crush, I kind of want to be her BFF. I have visions of myself ditching NYC for the weekend in favour of spending hours getting myself out to the Hamptons and arriving on Ina’s doorstep for a lovely country picnic. There will be some cheese, a delicious salad, perhaps some sandwich involving seafood, perhaps some cookies and a lovely fresh drink. Perhaps later that evening after whipping up a feast, Ina, Jeffrey and I will light a bonfire by the ocean and make s’mores whilst singing camp songs. Ok, maybe not the last part but I’d be lying if I didn’t admit that I really want to go to her Hamptons house and eat her food for days on end.

But I digress.

I’m a huge fan of Barefoot in Paris , I use it ALL the time and have yet to have a bad experience with it. Every once in a while I’ll decide to stay away from the tried and true in favour of something different. The photo of the Spinach in Puff Pastry has always seemed appealing but a little out of reach. Not sure what it is but pastry freaks me out. It’s why I don’t make my own pie crust. Granted, making my own puff pastry was never on the table but it still managed to freak me out. The other day I was feeling particularly ballsy and decided to whip this recipe up.

This recipe is actually pretty darn easy. No crazy techniques. No hard to source ingredients. Not even that much tims is required. The filling consisted of spinach, gruyere, parmesan, pine nuts, onions, garlic and spices. When I went to make it I thought that I had pine nuts in my freezer but didn’t and forged ahead without the pine nuts. No great loss.

There was absolutely nothing frightful about using my President’s Choice puff pastry. It was way too easy. I literally just opened the box and unrolled the two sheets and that was it. When I got to the step for the egg wash I realized that I didn’t have a pastry brush I attempted to do the eggwash with a spoon and some careful handiwork to no avail. I skipped it in the end. Sure, the finished product lacked colour but it was delicious. As in kind of incredible. I think I got two dinners out of this and a few lunches. It’s probably not the healthiest thing (cheese baked in a buttery crust) but if Ina isn’t counting calories that neither am I.

4 Tbsp	unsalted butter
2 cups	onions, chopped
1 Tbsp	chopped garlic, (3 cloves)
2 (10-oz) boxes	frozen chopped spinach, defrosted
1/3 cup	scallions, chopped, white & green parts (2 scallions)
1 cup	Gruyere cheese, grated
3/4 cup	Parmesan cheese, grated
4	eggs, lightly beaten
1 Tbsp	bread crumbs
2 tsp	salt
3/4 tsp	pepper
1/2 tsp	ground nutmeg
1/4 cup	pine nuts, toasted
2 sheets (1 box)	rozen puff pastry, defrosted in refrigerator overnight
1	egg, beaten with 1 Tbsp water, for egg wash

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Heat butter in saute pan and cook the onions over medium-low heat for 5-7 minutes, until tender. Add the garlic and cook for 1 more minute. Meanwhile, squeeze most of the water out of the spinach and place it in a bowl. Add the onion mixture, scallions, Gruyere, Parmesan, eggs, bread crumbs, salt, pepper, nutmeg and pine nuts. Mix well.

Unfold one sheet of puff pastry and place it on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Spread the spinach mixture in the middle of the pastry, leaving a 1-inch border. Brush the border with the egg wash. Roll out the 2nd sheet of pastry on a floured board until it’s an inch larger in each direction. Place the 2nd sheet of pastry over the spinach and seal the edges, crimping them with a fork. Brush the top with egg wash but don’t let it drip down the sides of the pastry won’t rise. Make three small slits in the pastry, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and bake for 30-40 minutes, until the pastry is lightly browned. Transfer to a cutting board and serve hot.

This can be assembled a day in advance, refrigerated, and baked before serving.

(From Barefoot In Paris by Ina Garten)