Brussel Sprouts Pastry Pockets

I had brussel sprout leaves left over from the Wilted Brussel Salad that I made the other day and was wondering what I could do with them. I love leftovers, whether it be from last night's dinner or ingredients that I didn't completely use up from a dish that I made previously. Either way, I consider them leftovers. One thing I like doing with them however, is to try and create a totally new dish, not just reheating them in the micro. So these brussel sprout leaves were just hangin around in the fridge next to a mozzarella ball and then it hit me. Why don't I come up with a baked dish that incorporates both? It sounded easy to me. I checked the freezer and noticed I still had a puff pastry sheet and that's when it all started coming together. I was going to make Brussel Sprout Pockets, filled with brussel sprout leaves, mozzarella, and cheddar.

They turned out very good and so I decided to share the recipe with you. This recipe is very easy to put together and tastes great hot or cooled. You can have it as an appetizer at dinner time or for lunch with a tossed green salad. Here's what you'll need:




1 Puff pastry sheet (Pepperidge Farm; be sure to thaw out a couple of hours before using)
4 Cups of brussel sprout leaves (or you can take brussel sprouts and slice them thin)
1/4 Cup chopped parsley
1 Cup of Shredded Mozzarella Cheese (or 4 slices from a Mozzarella cheese ball)
1/2 Cup of Sharp Shredded Cheddar Cheese
1 Teaspoon of crushed garlic
Salt and Pepper
2 Tablespoons of flour
Egg wash (1 egg and 1 tablespoon of water beaten)

Fill a medium size pot 3 inches with water and bring to a boil. Add the brussel sprouts and cover, cooking for about 5 to 6 minutes. Remove from heat, strain very well and set aside to cool.

Unfold the puff pastry sheet onto a floured cutting board. Rub your rolling pin with flour. If you have parchment paper, use a sheet of that over the pastry sheet and you won't have to worry about the dough sticking to your roller. Proceed to roll out your sheet until you get a square approximately 14 inches by 14 inches. Make sure you don't roll it out too thin. Next, with a sharp knife, cut the sheet into 4 equal squares. If the edges are jagged, just use your knife to cut nice straight sides.

Once the brussel sprouts have cooled,  gently squeeze any remaining moisture out and put them in a bowl, adding the crushed garlic, parsley, and salt/pepper to taste. Mix all ingredients well. At this point, you may take a small handful of the mozzarella cheese (if you used shredded) and add it to the bowl and mix in well. Preheat your oven to 425.

We will now start filling our pockets. Before you do, with a brush, coat all the edges of each pastry square with the egg wash, approximately 1/2 inch wide. Now, in the center of each square, add some of the brussel sprout leaves so that doesn't go beyond the egg washed edges. Your pastry squares are about 7"x7" and the brussel sprouts will cover  a space of about 2" wide by about 6" in length. Next, add some of the shredded cheddar. Finally, add the shredded mozzarella or if you used slices from the mozzarella ball, cut each slice in half and place them onto the brussel sprouts.

Now, carefully fold one side of each square over the brussel sprouts and cheese so that each corner connects with their opposite corner and created a nice pocket. Gently push down on the sides to fuse the seams together. With a fork, push gently down to make imprints of the fork teeth all the way around the fused seams. Use your brush to lightly egg wash the surface of each pocket. Set the pockets on non stick baking sheet or a greased sheet. You may also line the sheet with parchment paper. Before transferring to the oven, use a tooth pick to punch 4 holes in each of the pockets. Bake at 425 for approximately 25 minutes or until the pastry pockets are golden brown. Remove from oven and let set for about 5 minutes before serving. This is another great way of presenting brussel sprouts to those that may not otherwise like them. Enjoy!