If you’re looking for a special treat to serve your holiday guests look no farther than Salami and Cheese in Puff Pastry, found in Ina Garten’s How Easy Is That? Cook Book. In typical Ina fashion, she’s taken simple ingredients and turned them into something very sophisticated.
This week is potluck week at I Heart Cooking Clubs. Originally I intended to post this last week for the Helping Hand challenge but holiday celebrations intervened. The helping hand in this case is the puff pastry. While it’s entirely possible to make a puff pastry dough at home, when the store bought stuff is high quality and widely available, why not use it? Ina does, afterall.
Since I had a roll of puff pastry available after making the Puff Pastry Bow Ties, picking this recipe was an easy choice. It demonstrates the versatility of puff pastry since this time we’re going to use it in a savory application.
Ina uses soppressata for her pastry, but I used a salami that’s been encrusted with fine herbs. It’s a popular item at the deli we shop in. You’ll be tempted to really pile on the salami and cheese, but I encourage you to limit yourself to two or three layers. Both the salami and cheese are loaded with fat and while that’s not necessarily a bad thing, it does make the pastry soggy.
Gruyere and Havarti are popular cheeses here. You can usually pick up packs that have been pre sliced. Swiss or Emmental would also be good choices. Ina recommends Gruyere.
This is the third (or fourth?) recipe I’ve made from How Easy Is That? It’s worth the investment if you’ve been hesitant to buy the cookbook.
Ingredients
- About 1/2 pound thinly sliced salami
- About 1/2 pound sliced Havarti or Gruyere cheese
- Dijon or grainy mustard
- 1 sheet puff pastry
Instructions
- Preheat the oven according to the package directions and prepare a baking sheet with baking paper.
- Unroll the puff pastry, use a rolling pin to stretch it out if needed.
- Spread the pastry with mustard.
- Arrange the salami and cheese in layers on one half of the pastry dough. Two layers of each is good.
- Fold the other half of the pastry dough over the salami and cheese and use a fork to close the edges.
- Bake according to the time directed on the package. For me it was about 30 minutes. I cover the top with a piece of foil for the first half of baking time, then remove it so the pastry will brown.
More recipes from Ina Garten:
Since I missed I Heart Cooking Clubs last week, I’ll be linking up to this week’s potluck. Be sure to drop by to see what the other bloggers are making!
Puff pastry is such a great helping hand. This looks really yummy–perfect to nosh on with a salad for sure. 😉
This is perfect for any meal of the day! It is easy and looks delicious!
Happy New Year!
Yum, what a holiday treat! Better yet, the store-bought items make life easier for the host. A win win.
It’s hard to beat quick, easy AND tasty!
I used puff pastry as my helping hand ingredient too. We tried soppressata for the first time this week. My husband made a yummy pizza from Bon Appetite. This savory application look good. Happy New year!
Thanks, Diane! Happy New Year! 🙂
So glad that you chose this recipe because it’s way up on there on my to make list. I’m grateful for the tip about not adding too much meat or cheese because I think I would’ve been tempted and I will be sure to use a light hand. I think this would be lovely with a green salad, as you have pictured. I love the ease of this one and also how special it feels at the same time.
I think the salad counters the fattiness of the puff pastry, but my husband didn’t seem to mind!