Broccoli, Cheese, Avocado, Jalapeno Stuffed Puff Pastry

Broccoli, Cheese, Avocado, Jalapeno stuffed Puff Pastry is a scrumptious, delectable snack with wafery crispiness and succulent filling of broccoli, avocado, jalapeno peppers, cheddar cheese & hot chilli sauce. As a kid, I used to love veggie puff pastry more dearly than a long-lost sister - at the end of every school day, I would pop into the nearby bakery to buy these delectable pastries & then sit munching contentedly on my bus seat as the school bus took me home. It was pure bliss to bite into the crispy flakiness of the puffy outer shell and savor the delightful flavors of myriad veggies, so this time I wanted to invent the best-tasting veggie puff pastry that would let me re-live those moments. Taking a cue from the recipe written on my Pepperidge Farm Puff Pastry pack, I used broccoli, jalapenos, cheddar cheese, avocado & hot chilli sauce as my Puff pastry filling which resulted in exactly the heavenly-tasting veggie pastry creation that I was looking to achieve, so sharing my recipe with all of you to take a bite of pastry love :) I love making it spicy owing to my Indian heritage, but feel free to alter the quantity of hot sauce to suit your taste.

Broccoli, Cheese, Avocado & Jalapeno Stuffed Puff Pastry is perfect for those of us that relish enjoying tea with something that has more pizzazz than a bunch of dry crackers. They look intricate, but are surprisingly easy to make. Whip these up at a party or when your kids are saying no to every edible option in sight, and you'll find these cuties disappearing faster than you can pull them out of the oven. At least, my hubby certainly did make them vanish - these hardly lasted five minutes after the pics were taken :) Enjoy!

Broccoli, Cheese, Avocado, Jalapeno Stuffed Puff Pastry Recipe

Makes : 9 Puff Pastries

Ingredients:

2 Sheets of Puff Pastry (I used Pepperidge Farm)

1 Avocado; halved, pitted

1 cup chopped Broccoli

1/3 Cup shredded Sharp Cheddar Cheese or to taste

2 Jalapenos or to taste; seeded & chopped

1/4 cup hot chilli sauce or to taste (I used Sriracha)

Salt to taste

Freshly Ground Pepper to taste

1 egg

water

How to make Broccoli, Cheese, Avocado & Jalapeno Stuffed Puff Pastry

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
2. Thaw pastry sheets for about 20 mins.
3. In the meantime, cook broccoli in boiling, salted water until almost tender. Drain, refresh in cold water & set aside.
4. Scoop out the avocado flesh with a spoon. Coarsely mash the avocado flesh and keep aside.
5. Unfold 1 pastry sheet on a lightly floured work surface/countertop. With a knife or pizza cutter, slice into 9 (2 inch by 2 inch) squares.  Repeat with the other pastry sheet, making 18 squares in all. Out of these 18 squares, 9 will be used for filling while the remaining 9 will be used as covers/lids.
6. Take a square, place 1 tbsp of avocado in the square's center, then on top of avocado place 7-8 broccoli pieces, then some jalapeno pieces, then some cheddar cheese and top with 1 tsp of chilli sauce. Season with salt & pepper. Moisten the edges of the square with water. Repeat the process for the remaining 8 squares.
7. Use the remaining 9 unfilled squares as lids & place one lid over each of the 9 filled squares. Seal the pastry edges well by pressing the edges with a fork repeatedly such that no filling escapes during baking.
8. In a small bowl, beat the egg and 1 tbsp of water with a fork or whisk. Brush all the pastries lightly with the egg mixture.
9. Place the sealed pastries onto the baking sheets.
10. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown. Watch them regularly after 10 minutes in case your oven is hotter or your brand of puffed pastry cooks faster.
11. Remove from the oven & serve.