Sweet & Savory Wheels

Tonight was one of those nights when I wanted to try something not-so-healthy for dinner. I wanted something uber cheesy, followed by something uber sweet. Of course, a trip to a fast food restaurant would have been an easy solution to all my cravings, but in a hypocritical way, I wanted to make this 'something' healthy!

We settled for those puff pastry spinach and cheese rolls, the recipe for which is on the puff pastry box. Now since I had to 'own' the recipe, I followed the directions on the box loosely, as to include the spinach and cheese, but added a slew of other ingredients as well. Final result: yummy savory rolls!

For the sweet rolls, I used the other pastry sheet from the box (used one for the savory rolls), and added raspberry sauce and sour cream. I baked both the sweet and savory wheels together. So, my dessert cooled off while I devoured the piping hot spinach rolls. I have to add that a dash of whipped cream goes beyond-great with the sweet rolls; the combo is just divine!

Savory Rolls

Ingredients:

1/2 Onion, finely diced

1/4 C Spinach, cooked and drained

1/2 C Mix of cheese, shredded; I used Jalapeno pepper, Roasted Gouda

1/4 C Sun-dried tomatoes

1 tbsp Pesto sauce

1 tbsp Dijon mayonnaise

Salt as you like; I had a salty cheese so skipped salt

1 tbsp Chat masala (its a mix of tangy spices)

1 Puff pastry sheet, thawed

1 Egg

1 tbsp Water

1 clove Garlic, minced

Method:

Make an egg wash by beating egg and water together. In a bowl, mix onion, garlic, cheese, sun-dried tomatoes and chat masala (and salt, if using). Brush the pastry sheet with egg wash. Follow this by brushing pesto sauce and Dijon mayonnaise in strips, i.e., when you unfold the pastry sheet, apply pesto on one section, then mayonnaise on second and pesto again on third. Sprinkle cheese mix and add spinach on top. Roll the sheet so that pesto section gets rolled on top of mayo section, i.e., roll horizontally to get all three sections included in one roll when you cut it. Cut into slices, thin or thick as you like. I cut them thin to get crispy wheels. Lay them on parchment paper on a cookie sheet and brush with the egg wash. Bake for 15-20 mins at 400 deg F in a preheated oven.

Sweet Rolls

Ingredients:

4 tbsp sour cream

8 tbsp thickened raspberry sauce or jam

egg wash as above

1/2 tsp Cinnamon powder

1 puff pastry sheet, thawed

Method:

Unfold the thawed pastry sheet. Brush with egg wash and follow with the raspberry sauce and sour cream. Roll and cut into wheels. Lay on parchment paper on a cookie sheet. Brush with egg wash and sprinkle cinnamon on top. Bake for 15-20 mins in a preheated oven at 400 deg F.