Ugh, even typing this title is making me drool. I think I’ve discovered that I’m a HUGE breakfast person. All of my favorite go-to’s are a morning meal, and I love that I can take my time on Saturday mornings to truly make some good eatin’.
For our 2 year anniversary (and because we’re on lock-down), I wanted to make a truly “wow” breakfast. My fiance loves ham (re-reading this, this line is hilarious to me. “My fiance loves ham”…LOL), and so I tried to recreate my famous empanadas into more of a breakfast meal. These ended up being dangerously good and one that I’m already prepared to make again and again and again. I can’t wait to make these for a crowd when I can actually have a group together again!
P R E P
Don’t you love it when the prep is minimal? All you need for this dish is to thaw out your puff pastry–you’ll need to either put this in the fridge 24 hours prior, or laid out at least 2 hours in advance. You’ll also need to dice up your ham and grate your cheese, but that’s it!
What you’ll need
- Cookie sheet.
- Parchment paper.
- 1-2 puff pastry sheets. Most of the packages out there come with two 10 inch sheets. I only used one, and this made 4 good sized Pastries. If you’re cooking for a larger crowd, you can use both sheets and expect to make 8.
- 2 tablespoons of unsalted butter.
- 2 tablespoons of all-purpose flour. You can definitely use alternate flour options, such as almond flour, with the same measurement. Steer clear of coconut flour or any kind of flour that will mess with the overall flavor.
- 1 cup of whole milk, at room temperature. I used 2% milk and it worked just fine!
- 1/4 teaspoon of salt.
- 1/4 teaspoon of pepper.
- 2 cups of cooked ham, diced. Do NOT get deli ham–you want to aim for a ham steak kind of thing. You can usually find these by bacon in the store.
- 1 cup of fresh spinach. You can chop this or just keep them whole. I’d recommend loosely chopping it first.
- 1 1/2 cups of cheddar cheese, grated. Freshly grated cheese is SO much better. Make sure that you send the 1/2 cup of cheddar aside!
- 1 egg, lightly beaten.
Total Prep Time: 5 minutes
Total Cooking Time: 30 minutes
Servings: 4
Directions
- Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees.
- Your Puff Pastry sheets should be completely thawed out. Roll out the puff pastry using a rolling pin (I used a bottle of wine, LOL). Cut the puff pastry sheet into 4 squares. Place onto the parchment paper on your cookie sheet. and set aside.
- Using a small saucepan, melt the butter over medium-low heat. Add flour, and cook until combined.
- VERY slowly, pour in your milk and whisk consistently until it’s smooth. Bring to a boil.
- Once boiling, reduce heat to low and simmer. You’ll want it to be nice and thick, give it about 5-10 minutes.
- Add in spinach and stir until wilted, roughly 1-2 minutes.
- Add the ham and cheese and stir until the cheese is melted. Turn off heat and get ready to create your little pastries.
- Top each square (remember there should be 4), with a big ol’ spoonful of your ham/cheese/butter mixture. There will be a lot, so don’t be scared when you’ve got a huge heaping spoonful.
- Sprinkle with your 1/2 cup of grated cheddar.
- Fold each corner in, and do a little pinch in the center. As the pastry cooks, the puff pastry will expand and in order to keep it folded in that little pinch will do the trick!
- Brush each pastry with the egg wash–you’ll want the cover all sides.
- Place in the oven and bake for 20-25 minutes. It should be golden and all melty.
- Serve warm! Perhaps with a bloody mary or a mimosa…
POST COOKING NOTES
- You can get creative with these little babes. Add veggies, like mushrooms, bell peppers, etc or even some chopped jalapeno for a kick!
- The consistency can be a little grainy, so make sure that you’re doing a good whisk of the flour/butter/milk mixture. I really liked that this was a breakfast without eggs, since I can get a little burned out with eggs. Is anyone else with me??
- You can keep any leftovers in the fridge and easily heat back up in the microwave. These should stay good in the fridge for 2 days. I wouldn’t recommend freezing these!
If you make this, feel free to tag me on IG @ basickneadss! I love love love feedback, so let me know what you think!
Basic Kneads 