Puff Pastry Stars with Pears and Gorgonzola, an easy and quick recipe that can be a little tricky due to the fragility of the stars when we open them. However, let’s not panic because we can always use them by reassembling the pieces, as the filling will act as glue. Very cute and delicious to serve for appetizers or as a snack during Christmas. If you don’t like this type of filling, they adapt well to anything, even sweet. In fact, I have sometimes filled them with custard and pine nuts, very versatile indeed.
Here are some links to appetizer ideas, both land and sea, for the holiday season:
- Cost: Economical
- Rest time: 1 Hour
- Preparation time: 15 Minutes
- Portions: 15 stars
- Cooking methods: Electric oven
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: Christmas, All seasons
Ingredients
- 1 package rectangular puff pastry
- 2 oz oz gorgonzola
- 1 tbsp honey
- 0.7 oz oz Pecorino Romano
- 0.35 oz oz crushed pumpkin seeds
- 1 egg yolk
- to taste poppy seeds
Tools
- 1 Baking sheet
- 1 Parchment paper
- 1 Cookie cutter star-shaped
Preparation
Fold the puff pastry in half to double the thickness, which will allow us to fill the stars. Using a star-shaped cookie cutter, the third largest if you use the set I’ve recommended, cut out about 12 portions, though I reached 15 by reusing the scraps. Place the stars on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, brush them with beaten egg yolk, and sprinkle with poppy seeds. Bake in a preheated oven at 350°F, and cook for about 7 minutes or until golden brown. Cooking times may vary slightly between ovens.
Cut a wedge of pear, peel it, remove the core, and chop it into the smallest pieces possible. Then place them in a bowl along with the diced gorgonzola. If we want to speed up the preparation, we can put the pear in a food processor.
Also add the honey, crushed pumpkin seeds, Pecorino Romano, and mix all the ingredients well with a fork, trying to get a sort of grainy cream.
Once the puff pastry stars have cooled down, open them like mini sandwiches with a sharp but gentle knife, as they break easily. Finally, fill them with the gorgonzola filling we have prepared.
Serve our Puff Pastry Stars with Pears and Gorgonzola, placing them on a crystal stand or serving tray.
Tips
We can store the puff pastry stars in the refrigerator for about two days, but put them inside an airtight glass or ceramic container.
They will obviously soften, so if we need to prepare in advance for an event, we can prepare all the ingredients the day before and assemble them at the last minute.
