Spinach Pastry Puff

Have you started a bucket list yet? In the movie, "The Bucket List" starring Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman, two terminally ill men decide to make a "bucket list" where they follow their list of things to do before they die. Funny, heartwarming, crying my eyes out sad.. all in all a great movie. I remember going home that night and starting my own bucket list, most of which are very realistic. One of them is to go to Europe someday - France, Italy, Portugal, you name it. I love historical buildings and museums, and I love food.

A few weeks ago, I finally registered for a library card around my neighborhood. It's a very modest library: one floor, a computer room, a small collection of CD's, and so forth. Then in the far back corner were two aisles of cookbooks. And who did I happen to see on the cover for one of the books? My idol, Ina Garten, and her book titled Barefoot in Paris: Easy French Food You Can Make at Home. How perfect, I thought! I told Michael not too long ago that if I were to go to culinary school, it would be for French cooking over anything else. I think the book, Julie and Julia written by Julie Powell, had something to do with that. But anyway, I tried a couple of her recipes and they turned out great! So I wanted to share one of them with you. :)


Spinach in Puff Pastry
Serves 6

Ingredients:
- 1/2 stick of unsalted butter
-2 small onions, chopped
-3 garlic cloves, chopped
-2 (10-ounce) boxes frozen chopped spinach, defrosted (I would leave this out a night beforehand)
-2 scallions, chopped, white and green parts
-1 cup grated Gruyere cheese
- 3/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
-4 large eggs, lightly beaten
-1 tbsp dry bread crumbs, plain or seasoned
-2 tsp kosher salt
- 3/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
- 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
- 1/4 c toasted pignoli (pine) nuts
-2 sheets (1 box) frozen pastry puff, defrosted overnight in the refrigerator
-1 large egg beaten with 1 tbsp water, for egg wash
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Directions:

1) Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
2) Heat the butter in a saute pan and cook the onions over medium-low heat for 5-7 minutes, until tender. Add the garlic and cook for 1 more minute.
3) Squeeze the water out of the spinach and place it in a bowl. Add all the rest of the ingredients. (onion mixture, scallions, Gruyere and Parmesan cheese, eggs, bread crumbs, salt, pepper, nutmeg, and pignolis.) Mix well.
4) Unfold one sheet of puff pastry and place it on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Spread the mixture in the middle of the pastry, leaving a 1 inch border. Brush the border with the egg wash.
5) Roll out the second piece of pastry puff on a floured board until it's an inch larger in each direction. Place the second sheet of pastry over the spinach and seal the edges, crimping with a fork.
6) Brush the top with egg wash but don't let it drip down the sides or the pastry won't rise. Make three small slits in the pastry, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and bake for 30-40 minutes, or until the pastry is lightly browned.
7) Transfer to a cutting board and serve hot.

Bon appetit!

And as a tribute to one of my favorite tv chefs, here's Ina!