Broccoli Cheddar Pastelitos
I love the fall for so many reasons! One of which, is soups! A few weeks ago, I had a craving for Broccoli Cheddar Soup. My husband had a craving for my Cuban Pastelitos (small turnovers with a flaky dough but that’s for another blog). That request stood with me. However, it didn’t stay with me enough to make them! 😂
I made my soup and thought to myself, this would be really good as a stuffing in a pastelito! Let me be clear, this by no means was an idea, that was all mine. Lol! I often find my “great ideas” on the internet thought up by some other creative soul. 😔
Back to my story! So, the next weekend I went to the supermarket and bought everything I needed to make my Broccoli and Cheddar Soup Pastelitos! As I was preparing in the kitchen, my husband came in asking me “what are you making?” I quickly replied “an experiment that’s not necessarily my idea 😒” he laughed and said “ok I’ll wait to taste it”
This recipe takes all but a little over an hour because I cut corners and instead of making my homemade dough, I used ready made puff pastry sheets! 😂
The result? My husband and family loved them! And I made enough “soup” to serve on the side to dip the Pastelitos in!! Try it out and leave me some comments!!
PS... I tweaked the recipe to cut some fat and calories!! #winning
INGREDIENTS
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 small onion finely chopped
1 clove garlic minced or grated
1/4 cup flour
1 (14 ounce) can coconut milk or 1 1/2 cups milk
4 cups fresh or frozen broccoli florets
1-2 cups vegetable broth plus 2 cups water to thin it out a little
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon salt and pepper
2-3 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese plus more for topping
2 sheets frozen puff pastry thawed
1 egg lightly beaten
INSTRUCTIONS
Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic cook until tender, about 5 minutes. Whisk in the flour and cook until golden, 3 to 4 minutes, then gradually whisk in the milk until smooth. Add 1 cup broth, the broccoli and nutmeg, then season with salt and pepper. Bring to a simmer, reduce the heat to medium and cook, uncovered, until thickened, about 15-20 minutes.
Once the broccoli is tender, remove at least half of it from the the soup. Puree the remaining soup in batches in a blender until chunky-smooth. Return the soup to the pot. Add back the reserved broccoli.
Add the cheese to the soup and whisk over medium heat until melted. Simmer the soup 10-minutes or until the soup is very thick. You want the soup to be more like a stew and not thin at all. Remove from the heat. Scoop out about half of the soup into a bowl. Place the bowl of soup in the fridge for 30 minutes (or the freezer for 15). Return the remaining soup still in the pot back to the stove. Stir in the remaining 1 cup chicken broth. Keep the soup warm for serving or allow to cool and save for lunch tomorrow!!
While the soup in the fridge cools, lay the thawed puff pastry sheets out flat on a floured surface. Cut large circles out (I used a 4 1/4 inch circle cookie cutter) of the pastry with a ring cutter, about 4 per pastry sheet. Roll up the scraps of pastry dough and roll them back out to cut more circles. Then grab a rolling pin and roll the circles out just a bit to make them a little larger. Brush each circle with the beaten egg on the outer edge of half of the circle.
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Once the soup has cooled and is thick, spoon 2-4 tablespoons of the soup into the center of each round of pastry dough. Fold the dough over to cover the filling, making a semi-circle. Use the ends of a fork to seal the edges together. Place the pies on a parchment lined baking sheet.
Repeat with the rest of the pastry dough. When all of the empanadas are on the baking sheet, cut air holes in the top of each pie and then brush the tops with egg wash. Sprinkle with a little cheddar cheese. Bake for about 20 to 25 minutes until puffed and nicely browned. Don' freak, but these are going to ooze! Serve warm with the remaining soup for dipping!
