Christmas Appetizer: Bite-size Pastry Scrolls

As a self-confessed desserts junkie I sometimes struggle when it comes to thinking up appetizers that can be prepared quickly. On Sunday I was down to the wire with time and I realised that I didn't have quite the right amount of savoury to balance out our sweet buffet. As we all know, necessity is the mother of invention and so with some extra ready-rolled pastry in my freezer for inspiration, and an hour until guests started arriving, the bite-size pastry scrolls were born!
What follows is not really a recipe per say but rather a guide as to how I put them together. I did not think at the time to take progress photos so these will have to follow in a future post.

Pumpkin Feta Pastry Scrolls


Ingredients:
1 medium butternut pumpkin (squash)
50 grams feta
1 tablespoon dried oregano
1 (24cm x 24cm) sheet ready rolled puff pastry


Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius and line a baking tray. Slice a 1 inch thick round off the end of the pumpkin and store the rest covered in refrigerator for future use.
2. Peel this round and thinly slice it into strips. Cook in a microwave safe container for about 2 minutes or until tender. Separate strips and lay on paper towels to cool and drain.
3. Lay sheet of ready rolled puff pastry on a piece of baking paper and crumble feta evenly across the surface. Sprinkle with dried oregano.
4. Lay strips of pumpkin across the pastry.
5. Starting with the side closest to you begin to roll the pastry up like you would a map without incorporating the baking paper in the roll.
6. Once you have a pastry cylinder, wrap it in the baking paper and place in the freezer for about ten minutes, this will make it much easier to slice.
7. Using a serrated edge knife cut the scroll into 1.5cm widths. Use a delicate touch to avoid bending the rounds too much out of shape.
8. Place on the lined baking tray and bake for 15 minutes or until pastry is puffed and golden.
9. These are great served warm or at room temperature.

And now for version two!

Capsicum and Spinach Pastry Scrolls


Ingredients:
1 sheet (24cm x 24cm) ready rolled puff pastry
1/4 cup tomato paste
1 tablespoon dried oregano
1/2 red capsicum
Handful of baby spinach leaves
1/2 cup grated cheese

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius and line a baking sheet with paper.
2. Thinly slice red capsicum into strips.
3. Lay the pastry sheet onto some baking paper and spread with the tomato paste. Sprinkle with the dried oregano and then the baby spinach leaves.
4. Layer capsicum strips across spinach and sprinkle with grated cheese.
5. Starting with the side closest to you begin to roll the pastry up like you would a map without incorporating the baking paper in the roll.
6. Once you have a pastry cylinder, wrap it in the baking paper and place in the freezer for about ten minutes, this will make it much easier to slice.
7. Using a serrated edge knife cut the scroll into 1.5cm widths. Use a delicate touch to avoid bending the rounds too much out of shape.
8. Place on the lined baking tray and bake for 15 minutes or until pastry is puffed and golden.
9. These are great served warm or at room temperature.

I hope these recipes come in handy for any holiday season celebrations that you may be hosting this year. I am very excited today because we are finally putting up our Christmas tree.
Of all the holiday activities this one signals the real beginning of the season for me. We have the perfect evening, gloomy and raining, and I think I will bake some ginger biscuits to fuel us through the sorting of the lights and baubles, the garlands and the trinkets. Christmas has begun!