COVID has interrupted many of our lives so much lately, but it has definitely NOT stopped me from baking! I am so happy in my Sayulita kitchen, especially when I am experimenting with a new recipe. The holiday season is upon us. I want to share with you a wonderful holiday season side dish, or it could even be a main with a nice organic salad. Our Friday Farmer’s market is open, and you can always find beautiful fresh organic greens there.

So what am I writing about today? A homemade Pesto Puff Pastry Snowflake! A snowflake, you may ask? Sounds intriguing, doesn’t it. I made it today, & my taste testers said that it is so crispy & delicious that they could eat it everyday! Now that’s a compliment. 

The first thing that needs to be made is the Puff Pastry. I found a ridiculously easy recipe. Seeing that I had never made my own Puff Pastry I was very intrigued to make it myself. It came out great! Please remember to use organic flour. Regular flour is sprayed with pesticides two weeks before harvest to help dry the kernels. You don’t want those pesticides in your pastry!

Google: “The 3 Secrets for Quick Puff Pastry”, and there you will find the recipe and the video showing you exactly how it is done. Chill it overnight before using.

 Now you need to make the snowflake. All you need is your chilled pastry, pesto, & an egg wash.

The women who sell organic vegetables at our Friday Mercado have a table just outside the entrance to the market. They always have big bags of organic basil for you to make your own pesto. Simply drop 4 or 5 whole peeled garlic cloves into your food processor; with the machine running. Add a handful of almonds or cashews to the processor & let it run a few seconds till both are reduced to fine bits. I like to use cashews, since they seem to be a bit lighter than almonds. Pack the processor with the fresh basil leaves & process until you have a paste. Add organic olive oil to loosen into a pesto. Do not make it runny, so pour in your oil in small amounts until you get the consistency you want. Add salt to taste.

So now you have your pesto and puff pastry ready to go!

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Chill your work surface with a few freezer ice packs. (Only needs 2-3 minutes.)
3. Place a piece of parchment paper over the chilled surface.
4. Sprinkle generously with flour.
5. Cut puff pastry in ½, refrigerating ½ till ready to roll out.
6. Roll out 1^st ½ until you have approximately a 9” circle.
7. Spread your pesto over the circle but be sure to leave a ½ inch border.
8. Roll out your refrigerated piece into another 9” circle.
9. Press the 2 pieces together at the ends to lightly seal them together
10. Place a glass in the center of the circle and cut from the edge of the glass outward to make 16 wedges around the circle. Please see the included photo.
11. Remove the glass then brush the 1 egg beaten with 1 Tablespoon of water all over with this egg wash.
12. Twist the 2 wedges that are side by side in towards each other, then pinch them together about ½ way up from the bottom.
13. Repeat the twisting and sealing process until you have formed 8 points to make the snowflake. (*I know that this sounds complicated but it really is very easy once you get the hang of it! Keep referring to the photos to see how it is done. Then it is easy peasy!)
14. Carefully transfer the snowflake on the parchment paper to the baking sheet and
15. Bake until the pastry is golden brown and puffed, or about 20-25 minutes.

And mira! You will be so impressed with yourself. You have made a very professional savoury pastry. For all the sweet lovers out there, you can spread with ⅓ cup Nutella rather than the savory pesto. I am a huge savory lover so decided to use pesto and it worked out perfectly!

If you have any comments or questions please go to my Sayulita web page; I do love hearing from you!

*Written by: Karina Shecter