Vegetables en Croute (Vegetables in Puff Pastry)

As you can see from the photograph, this dish makes for an awesome presentation, and you get all that delicious creamy flavor of the vegetables inside and the nice crunch of the puff pastry, a great combination of texture. It's really not that difficult to make, especially if you have handled puff pastry before. Try to handle the puff pastry while it's still a little cold (but not frozen) because it gets too soft and limp to handle once it gets to room temperature.

Ingredients:

1 package puff pastry (2 pastry sheets), thawed

All-purpose flour for dusting

1 egg, beaten, for glazing

For the filling:

2 tablespoons butter

1 leek, shredded

2 garlic cloves, crushed

1 red bell pepper, slices

1 yellow bell pepper, sliced

1 3/4 oz. mushrooms, sliced

2 3/4 oz. small asparagus spears

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

6 tablespoons vegetable or chicken broth

6 tablespoons milk

4 tablespoons dry white wine

1 tablespoon chopped oregano

Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400°F. 

To make the filling, melt the butter in a pan over medium heat, add the leeks and garlic and sauté for 2 minutes. Add the remaining vegetables and cook, stirring for 3-4 minutes. Add the flour and cook for 1 minute. Remove pan from heat and stir in the stock, milk, and white wine. Return to heat and bring to a boil, stirring, until thickened. Stir in the oregano and season with salt and pepper. Set aside.

Roll out one pastry sheet on a lightly floured counter to form a rectangle 15 x 6 inches. Roll out the other half of the pastry to the same shape, but a little larger; cut parallel slits across the larger rectangle to within 1 inch of each edge. Place the smaller rectangle on a baking sheet lined with dampened parchment paper.

Spoon the filling on top of the smaller rectangle, leaving a half -inch clean edge. Brush the edges of the smaller rectangle with some beaten egg and place the larger rectangle on top, sealing the edges well. Brush the top and sides with the beaten egg and bake for 30-35 minutes until risen and golden. Serve hot or warm. Serves 4.