The savory puff pastry lamb is an easy, quick, attractive and delicious rustic pastry, a Easter appetizer that’s both simple and dramatic, which will let you make a big impression with minimal effort. With Easter approaching, here is a last-minute appetizer to prepare without molds or cutters, using a few simple ingredients — also perfect as a table centerpiece. The puff pastry lamb can be stuffed with whatever ingredients you prefer, even as a vegetarian version with vegetables; it’s gooey, flaky and very tasty, perfect to share with your family, friends and relatives!
- Difficulty: Easy
- Cost: Budget-friendly
- Preparation time: 15 Minutes
- Cooking time: 25 Minutes
- Portions: 6People
- Cooking methods: Oven, Electric oven
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: All seasons
Ingredients
- 7 oz scamorza
- 4.4 oz mortadella
- 4 slices salami
- 2 rolls puff pastry (rectangular)
- 1 egg (for brushing)
- 1 olive
- to taste sesame seeds
Steps
The savory puff pastry lamb is very simple and super quick to prepare. First, take one sheet of puff pastry and cut it into 4 vertical strips and 3 horizontal strips — this will give you 12 small pieces. Fill each piece with a bit of mortadella and a small cube of scamorza, then close them to form little balls.
Take the second puff pastry sheet, cut it in half vertically, then divide one half into two vertical parts; then cut one of those parts into thirds horizontally and split the vertically cut piece in half. Refer to the step-by-step photos to understand better — it’s easier to do than to explain. This way you’ll get one larger square and 8 smaller pieces.
Fill all the smaller pieces as before with mortadella and cheese to make little balls, and use the remaining salami and cheese to fill the larger piece; close this one to form a sort of slightly rounded “drop” (teardrop) shape on top.
Now assemble your puff pastry lamb: make a row of 6 little balls placed side by side, place 5 balls underneath, then 4, then 2 to make the feet, and one to the right side to make the tail.
Position the face now and gently elongate the two remaining balls to form the ears. Brush the puff pastry lamb with beaten egg, sprinkle the body with sesame seeds, and make the eyes with two small pieces of olive.
Bake the rustic puff pastry lamb in a preheated oven at 392°F for 20-25 minutes, until golden.
Tips:
The puff pastry lamb can be kept at room temperature for a few hours or refrigerated for a couple of days. You can also prepare it in advance the day before and store it in the fridge, then bake it shortly before serving. The filling can be customized with the ingredients you prefer.
Other Easter appetizer recipes HERE
