Tuesday 19 January 2016

Nothing Fishy Going On!

Tortini Salati di Pasta Sfoglia con Zucchine Gialle, Acciughe, Capperi, Pomodorini & Mozzarella
Mini Puff-Pastries with Yellow Zucchini, Anchovies, Capers, Cherry Tomatoes & Mozzarella


Party time! Snack time! Time to have a drink time! But basically... it takes next to no time to make these incredibly tasty little pastries, which are rich and packed with flavor- and a little different to the usual! Which is always what I like best!

And just to think- all it took was 1 zucchini and 1 little mozzarella cheese to make these 12, delectable snacks! You wanna know how right? Well- all right!


Whether they are little sausage rolls (yum!) or cheese twists, we all have our little puff-pastry creations that we whip up when we are short on time and need something that will simply WORK and please the crowd. 

Well here is one more of those little ideas for you! Looks pretty good, huh?


For 12 small pastries, you will need 1 roll of puff pastry, 1 medium zucchini (yellow in this case- although the color is totally irrelevant wink emoticon ), 5-6 cherry tomatoes, 2-3 anchovies, 1 tablespoon of capers, 1 mozzarella cheese, fresh parsley, salt, pepper and nutmeg.


Zucchini, mozzarella and anchovies are best friends- there are any number of Italian dishes based on that combination... so you can be sure they are going to work wonderfully in this one too. 

And don't worry if you are not a great lover of fish- I am not either... and these don't end up tasting "fishy"- the anchovies just give a great depth of seasoning and save you from having to add any salt to the zucchini- the combination is really great!


To prepare the zucchini, simply chop it into a relatively fine dice and pop it into a frying pan with the anchovies and capers- season with nutmeg and pepper and stir fry them together... with no oil! 

The zucchini has plenty of moisture- indeed more than you want in a pastry, so let it cook down and evaporate away for 4-5 minutes. And don't worry- use a non-stick pan and you will have no problems at all.


Once the zucchini is soft and cooked, remove it from the heat, add plenty of finely chopped parsley, stir it through and set it aside to cool. 

In the meantime, turn on your oven to the highest setting to get it hot and ready for baking!


Stamp out your pastries using a large cookie cutter, or cut around a glass if you don't have one... or even cut your pastries into squares- the shape really makes no difference. 

Once it is cool, spoon the diced zucchini onto each base and then top with a couple of slices of cherry tomato. Add just a pinch of salt to the tomatoes and then grind generously with pepper.


Make sure to leave about 1" of pastry free around the outer rim of course, to allow the pastry to rise and puff up around the edges.

Finally, cut that little mozzarella into 12 wedges and add one to each little pastry... you don#t need much cheese- as you will see as soon as it melts! lol! You don't want it spill over the edge of the pastry too much! Even this small amount DID spill over the edge by one or two of the pastries... so heed my word!

Grate with a last little dusting of nutmeg and then pop into a hot oven, at 190°C for 25-30 minutes, until baked through, puffed up and golden brown.


Yes, they're simple... everything that I do IS... but they are also good! (I will leave you to decide the rest!)


Yep- they are pretty enough to serve to guests too! You betcha!


And just as tasty as tasty can be, plus- so perfect to go with a nice cocktail! Hint-hint!


Made for sharing!

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