Just trust me on this one.  It’s a great little nibbly-treat for any occasion.

The goods:

1 package (2 sheets) puff pastry, thawed

1 tub (8oz) mascarpone cheese, softened

handful of sun-dried tomatoes, reconstituted (soaked in warm water for at least twenty minutes), drained, patted dry, and chopped

shredded parmesan cheese

extra virgin olive oil

dried oregano, thyme, basil

coarse kosher salt (optional)

 

There’s a couple different form factors you can use here – and these work for any sort of puff pastry treat. I’ll go over both.

THE BRAID:

– Unfold your puff pastry on a lightly floured surface or a sheet of parchment paper.  Press the seams together and smooth it out.

– spread a generous amount (roughly half your tub) of mascarpone onto the middle third.

– sprinkle on some sun-dried tomato.  press it gently into the mascarpone.

– sprinkle on some parmesan.  You don’t want a huge mound of filling, so be gentle.

– make slices in the other two thirds of the puff pastry, perpendicular to the filling, about a finger’s width thick.  you should end up with two fringed sides, and a slab of filling in the middle.

– alternating sides, fold each slice of puff pastry over the filling so it ends up looking like a pretty braid.

– brush a little olive oil over the top and sprinkle with oregano, thyme, and sea salt, if desired

– Place on greased cookie sheet, or if you’ve been working on a sheet of parchment paper, put the whole thing, paper and all, on a cookie sheet

– Bake in a preheated oven according to package directions, until golden brown and crispy.

– Let cool, then slice up and enjoy

THE SWIRL

– Unfold pastry, pinch together seams, smooth out

– spread mascarpone (you might need a little more than half the tub here) over entire sheet, leaving 1 inch at the top and bottom

– sprinkle on tomato, pressing gently into the cheese

– sprinkle on parmesan, oregano, and thyme

– starting at the top, roll the whole sheet towards you

– smooth out your pastry log, then slice into about 3/4-inch slices

– place cut sides up onto parchment paper-lined cookie sheets

– bake in preheated oven according to directions until golden and beautiful

 

Enjoy =)