Puffy Italian Pastries

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 small white boiling onion, peeled and diced in 1/4-inch pieces
• 6 small plum tomatoes, stem end cut off, and diced into 1/4-inch pieces
• 2 small cloves garlic, smashed, peeled and minced
• ¼ cup roughly chopped basil
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 4 ounces mozzarella cheese diced into 1/4-inch pieces
• ¾ cup Parmesan cheese
• 1 ½ teaspoons kosher salt
• Freshly ground black pepper to taste
• 2 boxes frozen puff pastry, defrosted (4 sheets)

• Nutritional Information

  • Nutritional analysis per serving (80 servings)

    45 calories; 3 grams fat; 1 gram saturated fat; 1 gram monounsaturated fat; 0 grams polyunsaturated fat; 3 grams carbohydrates; 0 grams dietary fiber; 0 grams sugars; 1 gram protein; 1 milligram cholesterol; 86 milligrams sodium

  Note: Nutrient information is not available for all ingredients. Amount is based on available data.
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80 pieces

Preparation

1. Place rack in center of oven and heat to 400 degrees.
2. Put oil and onion in a medium-size, nonstick frying pan over medium heat. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 2 minutes.
3. Add tomato and garlic, and cook another 2 minutes, until tomatoes soften and some liquid has evaporated. Add the basil and tomato paste; cook another minute.
4. Place tomato mixture in a bowl. Add the mozzarella cheese, 1/2 cup of Parmesan, salt and pepper, and stir to combine.
5. Working with one package at a time, open sheets of puff pastry, if folded. On a lightly floured surface, roll each sheet slightly, into a shape about 10 inches square.
6. Using a 2-inch round cookie cutter with sharp edges — and not a glass — cut out rounds of dough as close together as possible (each sheet should make about 20). Make a depression in the center of each round with knuckle or fingertip, leaving a rim of untouched dough.
7. Place on 2 ungreased baking sheets. In each depression, place a heaping 1/2 teaspoon of the tomato mixture. Sprinkle edges of pastry with Parmesan cheese.
8. Place one sheet in oven and bake for 12 minutes. Remove and repeat with remaining sheet.
9. Remove pastries from sheets and allow sheets to cool.
10. While first two sheets are baking, form and fill second package of dough. Do not place dough on hot cookie sheets, as the butter in the dough will melt.
11. If baking ahead of time, reheat 3 minutes in 325-degree oven. If the pastries are frozen, bake for 14 minutes.

45 minutes