Simple Measure

Happy Easter, folks. No brunch thing for us this year. Jared had to work today, so we decided to do the festive thing last night. It was swell— I tried my hand at homemade bloody mary mix. Spicy and good! (Do: garnish these babies with Rick’s Mean Beans).

It was my favorite kind of party. Casual. Good friends came by. Records were played— sparking some inspired late night dancing (errrr sorry, downstairs neighbors…) And yup, good food was had.

All day I was convinced there wouldn’t be enough to eat. And I was (so) totally wrong. Throw in some celery and olives and bloodies are practically a meal themselves. And between my cooking and contributions from Brock, Megan, Sarah and Corey, there was more than enough delicious stuff to go around.

My goal for the evening: spending as little time at the stove as possible. So everything I made was super light on the prep work. And when you want easy and impressive, puff pastry’s got your back.

For the filling: savory carmelized onions and Manchego cheese to balance the sweetness of fig jam. Wrap it all up in pre-made puff pastry and all you’ve got to do is pop it in the oven and wait for the goldeny goodness.

Cut up into squares, it’s an appetizer. Or serve larger slices with salad, and you’ve got yourself a nice meal.

Fig and Manchego Puff Pastry
Manchego is a cave-aged sheep’s milk cheese from the La Mancha region of Spain. You can find it in any store that has a good selection of international cheeses.

1 package frozen puff pastry

5 oz Manchego

3+ Tbs fig jam

1 medium sweet onion, sliced thin

2 Tbs butter, plus extra for greasing the baking sheet

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Thaw the puff pastry according to package directions.

2. Melt 2 Tbs butter in a medium saucepan. Add the onions and cook over low heat until they’re very soft and beginning to brown, about 20 – 25 minutes.

3. While the onions are cooking, cut the Manchego into thin slices.

4. Grease a baking sheet with butter and carefully unfold the puff pastry on it. Spread the fig jam over one side of the pastry, covering it evenly. I didn’t measure how much I used, but I’m guessing it came to about 3 Tbs. You’re looking for a thick layer. Layer half the Manchego over the jam, then layer the onions on. Top with the remaining cheese.

5. Fold the other half of the pastry on top of the filling. Wet your finger with water and gently pinch down the edges to seal the packet.

6. Put the pastry in the oven and bake for 20 minutes, or until golden brown. Remove from the oven and let stand for 30 minutes until fully cool. Slice into small squares and serve.

Serves 10 as an appetizer.