For this easy gourmet starter, I used the sort of store bought puff pastry dough you can easily find in the frozen food section at your local supermarket. I love cooking with puff pastry: it’s magical watching the yeast/baking powder-free creature rise and poof up in the oven.
I made some new friends this weekend at the Starchefs International Chefs Conference, including Emmi Rothkase who provided the Le Gruyere Switzerland AOC Reserve cheese for this recipe. It’s a ten-month aged, grass fed, perfect companion to this savory recipe. You can omit the cheese if you like, but know that the combo of savory and sweet pineapple paired with the buttery, flaky puff pastry is what makes this guy so irresistible.
Ingredients
Makes about 14 bite size servings in various shapes
Puff pastry (thaw out to package directions)
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 cups fennel, shaved with a mandolin
½ cup vegetable stock
1 stem lemongrass
½ pineapple, diced
2 cups gruyere cheese
½ teaspoon kosher salt
fresh ground pepper to taste
Cooking spray
Directions
In a saute pan on the stove top, add vegetable oil and saute fennel at medium heat for about 3-4 minutes. Deglaze with vegetable stock and add lemongrass and pineapples. Reduce heat to a low-simmer and continue cooking for 30-40 minutes stirring frequently until fennel is very tender. Remove from heat and cool at room temperature.
Roll out puff pastry dough and use a cookie cutter (round-shaped) to section off your puff pastry.
In a greased (cooking spray) muffin pan, place puff pastry and dock (puncture little holes with a fork). Bake in the oven for about 10-12 minutes, or until puff pastry rises. Remove from oven, cool for a few minutes (5 minutes), unmold and place on a baking sheet. Place fennel with pineapples, sprinkle cheese, add more fennel and pineapples. The gruyere cheese will act as an instant adhesive and pull all your ingredients together once it hits the heat in the oven.
Place in a preheated oven at 350 degrees and bake for about 15 minutes. Remove, plate, and eat up!