Puff pastry—who doesn’t love it? It’s delicious and delightful. Rich yet light and crisp. And all those layers—charming! How do they do that? It seems like making it should involve at least a little magic.
(I could tell you how, and you probably know if you’ve ever seen “The British Baking Show,” but it’s sometimes nice to just sit with the magic of something, isn’t it?)
So one reason to love puff pastry is its charming elegance. When you enjoy it, you’re sort of gastronomically transported to a sparkling wine soiree or Parisian patisserie.
But that’s also kind of it’s drawback. We—myself included—tend to think of puff pastry as special-occasion. And it is. But it’s also absolutely appropriate for a Tuesday night.
Take this Chicken, Sundried Tomato, and Brie Puff Pastry Tart. Delicious and delightful, yes. But also super-simple to toss together for dinner tonight. Using mostly storebought and ready-made ingredients. Including the puff pastry itself.
(While it’s true that there are many things I make from scratch because I know that the homemade version will be way better than the storebought one, puff pastry is not one of them. In fact, I’ve known several professional pastry chefs, people who adore making pastry and are paid to do it and, other than once or twice in cooking school, even they use pre-made puff pastry.)
So another reason to love puff pastry is it’s easily available and absolutely weeknight appropriate.
Last but definitely not least, almost anything you can imagine putting on a pie—savory, like a pizza pie, or sweet, like a bakery one—you can put on puff pastry.
Chicken, sundried tomatoes, and brie? For sure. But also sausage, pepperoni, and mozzarella. Ham and swiss. Pears and almonds.
Over the course of my career I’ve created recipes for puff pastry tarts using many ingredients and for all seasons. Tomatoes in the summer. Leeks, peas, and prosciutto in the spring. Apples and goat cheese in the fall. And butternut squash (that one’s in my cookbook) in the winter. To name a few.
So puff pastry is versatile.
The bottom line is, you bet, puff pastry is perfect for pretty little cups of crab salad or sauteed mushrooms as holiday appetizers (‘tis almost the season). And fancily flaky Napoleons, palmiers, and cheese twists.
But spread out a sheet, top it with almost whatever tickles your fancy, and it’s also an easy, special-seeming-but-not-fancy dinner. Tonight.
More pastry recipes (puff and others):
Bacon, Caramelized Onion, and Thyme Pie
Spring Vegetable and Prosciutto Tart
Chicken, Sundried Tomato, and Brie Puff Pastry Tart
Apple-icious Crostata
Peach Galettes
Apple, Honey, and Goat Cheese Puff Pastry Tart
Pumpkin Pie with Gingered Whipped Cream
How to make pastry
