Let me preface this post by telling you that I’m typing it up on my (barely functional and very old) iPhone 4 (because my iPhone 5 isn’t expected for another two weeks- boo!) on the bus, headed home from work.
And by “work” I don’t mean my usual “very tame” 9 hour work day. I mean an Advil-sustained, coffee and diet-coke guzzling absolutely intense ten and a half hour work-athon. Yeah. Cause that’s what happens when your company closes ten days straight in celebration of a holiday.
Not fun. Wait. I should clarify. Vacation is fun. Coming back isn’t. Wait, was that obvious? Also, I’m probably not coherent. Consider yourselves warned.
Oh, and I’m not finished complaining about my work day. I came in to a total of 254 emails and orders. I thought that was bad, then I discovered that my customers knew that I was out, so they were waiting until I came back to contact me. Trust me, as bad is it sounds…it was worse.
Also, you have to remember that every customer is convinced they’re the only one, or at best, the only one who is in a rush. Have I mentioned the phone calls yet? Well suffice it to say that they didn’t stop, except for the few moments that I accidentally turned my phone off. Okay, I’m finished complaining explaining my complete lack of coherence.
Now let’s talk potatoes. Not just potatoes, but PESTO potatoes y’all! And it gets better, because said pesto potatoes are wrapped up in a glorious layer of carby puff pastry. They’re extra awesome because the pinwheel shape is just plain pretty. And the little size means they’re a perfect appetizer, or better yet, party food. I served these a number of times over the holidays, and they got rave reviews all around. Bonus: they froze nicely! Don’t tell anyone.
I don’t have energy to convince you further, I have work email to not answer. What can I say, make them. You’ll thank me later.
Pesto Potato Pinwheels
Ingredients:
(I used an imitation pesto made from frozen basil cubes, using the ingredients below. You can use prepared pesto instead.)3 large Idaho potatoes
1/4 cup prepared pesto (plus olive oil, as needed) OR
1/4 cup olive oil
4 frozen basil cubes or 4 teaspoons finely chopped basil
2 teaspoons salt
1/4-1/2 teaspoon black pepper
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 large sheets of puff pastry
Instructions:
Boil potatoes until tender. Remove from flame and place in large mixing bowl.
If using imitation pesto: Prepare imitation pesto: mix together basil cubes or chopped basil, salt, pepper and minced garlic. Add olive oil and stir until combined. Mixture should be slightly thick.
Pour pesto mixture into the bowl with the potatoes. Mash until smooth. Mixture will have a slightly greenish hue. Don’t worry, it will look nice when you bake it.
Preheat oven to 350. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper or grease it lightly.
Roll out the puff pastry sheet and cut into three sections. Spread a third of the mashed potato mixture over the puff pastry. Roll it up lengthwise, so that you end up with a long and skinny roll. Note: the tighter you roll it out, the prettier and more delicious if will be.
Use a sharp serrated knife (bread knife) to cut half inch slices of the roll. Place the rolls on the prepared cookie sheet (if they flatten while slicing, you can roll them a bit between your palms, if desired).
Bake at 350 for 30-35 minutes, until sides are golden brown. Serve hot.
Enjoy!
I know, I know. The holidays are over and nobody needs fattening recipes now. But c’mon, these look awesome, don’t they? Plus, I have some healthy recipes coming up…I promise! -Miriam
They look adorable & delicious!
I hope you really did ignore those emails. And I love that serving piece!
Everyone loved these- even the fussy babby who doesn’t eat anything!
YUM! iphone 4…you’re still ahead of me with my dumb phone 🙂
Yum Yum and more Yum. They look so cute and inviting.
Yeah, you have no sympathy here about your iphone!
These look fantastic! Great recipe for anytime if you ask me! I feel your pain about time off. My company closing for the last week in December, and that first day back is always a rough one!
I write my posts on my iPhone all the time! It’s such a time saver when I do it during work or during my drive to work (traffic is horrendous moving at 5mph or less). As for these pinwheels, they are amazing! I could eat so many of this in one sitting!
Wow, those look wonderful! I’m obsessed with pesto, so I’ll have to try these!
these are such a cute appetizer, i love pesto in everything!
Hopefully you get some well deserved *me time* this weekend. Love the look of these potato pinwheels. What a great serving idea.
These look very cute.Do you have to egg the puff pastry sheet before cutting them into slices so that they will turn a nice brown?
can I use malawah dough?
Is it one puff pastry sheet cut into thirds or two puff pastry sheets combined to cut into thirds? The list of ingredients says two sheets and the instructions sound like you use only one.
Repeat the directions with the second sheet.
can you freeze these?
Yes.
Second the question – can you freeze them? I’d make them now and freeze if it would work.
Yes.
Do you freeze them raw, or baked?
Baked is fine!
can i use filo dough instead of puff pastry?
You can try but it will be a totally different texture.
Is the mixture enough for two sheets or I should double?
Thanks
It’s enough.
I just wanted to say that i made these the other night really just as a snack to go with our family dinner and my husband (a very picky eater) LOVED them! hes been requesting them all week now!! thank you!
Why are some of your recipes print ready with a little box and print icon and others not? It is hard to print just the recipe for some of your recipes.
Should the dough be cut lengthwise into 3? Or width wise. Thanks
Delicious, but very salty. Salting the water and then salting the broccoli with 2 tsp (!!) is too much. I’d suggest leaving out 1 tsp. Otherwise, delicious! Thanks, Miriam!
these were pretty easy to put together and so yummy. they were absolutely flying off the counter as they were supposed to be cooling because my whole family was walking by and snatching them as they passed. by the way, I didn’t have any fresh basil. also didn’t have prepared pesto-we live in Israel. I used 4 tsp dried basil instead and it totally still worked. thank you so much!!
If frozen, how do you prepare them for serving? (temperature, time, etc.)
Defrost, then reheat, uncovered, in a single layer.