CANBERRA, AUSTRALIA — These Greek-inspired Spinach and Feta Cheese Pastries from Canberran food blogger Linda Peek are loaded with spinach, cheese, onions, and garlic. “These pastries are the perfect addition to lunch boxes, picnics, brunches, and buffet lunches. Or serve them as appetizers with drinks and cold beverages. Each one is a buttery puff of goodness that melts in your mouth. Kids love these pastries, and it’s a good way to add more green vegetables to their diet,” says Linda.
She adds, “Cut out puff pastry from ready-rolled puff pastry sheets. They need to be about 3 inches square, which means in Australia you can get 9 from each sheet. Once cooked and cooled, if you are not serving these pastries immediately, keep them in the refrigerator for a few days or freeze them. They will need just a few minutes in a hot oven or an air fryer to warm up.”
There wouldn’t be many food bloggers who can list “Diplomat’s Spouse” as a former career but for Linda Peek it was a natural progression from one to the other. Having traveled the world for over 35 years with her diplomat husband living in Israel, Malaysia, South Africa, France and Denmark, Linda honed her cooking skills catering for many diplomatic events and receptions.
“Whenever I need an appetizer for a party today that I know will be easy, impressive, and a crowd-pleaser, I turn to puff pastry. These sheets of buttery, flaky dough are endlessly versatile, bake up beautifully golden every time, and can be found in the freezer section of any grocery store. This is that kind of special dish that’s perfect to serve for your next special event or party, too, and I know your guests will enjoy it every time,” she adds.
Note:
Puff pastry, also known as pâte feuilletée, is a flaky light pastry made from a laminated dough composed of dough and butter or other solid fat. The butter is put inside the dough, making a paton that is repeatedly folded and rolled out before baking. It is usually found in the same aisle as frozen desserts in most grocery stores these days. Puff pastry seems to be related to the Greek phyllo (or Filo), and is used in a similar manner to create layered pastries. Puff pastry is laminated with thin layers of butter in between. Phyllo is virtually fat-free and delicate, like parchment. Puff pastry can be leavened with baker’s yeast to create croissants, Danish pastry, Spanish milhoja, or Portuguese empanadas, though such preparations are not universally considered puff pastries. Defrost the pastry according to the package directions.
