The puff pastry pockets with feta and caramelized onions are a tasty and surprisingly flavored recipe that, with just a few simple ingredients, allows you to serve a guaranteed successful appetizer. Thanks to the bold combination of contrasting flavors, this gourmet appetizer is destined to be a hit on any occasion, especially during holidays: given the time of year, they could be an excellent idea to include among the Easter appetizers. These crispy puff pastry enclaves contain a delicious filling where the saltiness of the feta cheese is perfectly balanced by the sweetness of the caramelized onions and the slightly earthy taste of the walnuts. Preparing the puff pastry pockets with feta and caramelized onions is very simple and quite fast: what requires a bit more time, in fact, is just the preparation of the caramelized onions, but you can easily prepare them in advance, up to 3 or 4 days before, significantly simplifying the final preparation of the dish.
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- Difficulty: Very easy
- Cost: Very cheap
- Preparation time: 35 Minutes
- Portions: 4 people
- Cooking methods: Oven, Stove
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: All seasons
Ingredients for 4 puff pastry pockets with feta and onions
If you are celiac you can make the puff pastry pockets using a roll of gluten-free puff pastry; if you can’t find the rectangular one, you can use the round one by cutting out four rectangles and using the leftovers for other preparations like these appetizers.
- 1 roll puff pastry (rectangular)
- 5.3 oz feta
- 0.7 oz walnuts (shelled)
- 1 egg
- to taste sesame seeds (optional)
- 12.3 oz onions
- 1 tbsp sugar
- 0.7 oz butter
- 3.4 tbsp balsamic vinegar (about)
- 1 pinch salt
Tools
- 1 Cutting Board
- 1 Knife
- 1 Pan non-stick with lid
- 1 Small Bowl
- 1 Fork
- 1 Brush
- 1 Baking Tray
How to prepare puff pastry pockets with feta, caramelized onions, and walnuts
To prepare the puff pastry pockets with feta and caramelized onions, start by preparing the caramelized onions, the recipe can be found here. Remember that you can prepare them even 3 or 4 days before and store them in the fridge until ready to use. Then move on to the other ingredients: roughly chop the walnuts (1). Cut the feta into slices and crumble it slightly (2). Unroll the rectangular puff pastry and cut it into 6 equal rectangles (3).
I filled only 4 with feta and onions, and used the remaining 2 rectangles for dessert, making apple puffs. If you want to make 6 pockets, you will need 14.1 oz of onions and 7 oz of feta. Place some feta in the center of each rectangle (4), some onions, and a few chopped walnuts (5). In a small bowl, crack the egg and beat it vigorously with a fork, then brush it on the edges of each pastry rectangle (6).
Fold the corners inward (7), making them meet in the center and pressing well to make them adhere (8). Place the puff pastry pockets on a baking tray lined with parchment paper, then brush them on top with some egg (9).
Garnish them, if you like, with some sesame seeds (10). Bake the puff pastry pockets with feta and caramelized onions in a preheated oven at 392°F (static) for about 20 minutes, until they are puffed and golden (11).
Let them rest for about ten minutes before serving, as the sweet-salty flavor contrast is better appreciated when slightly warm.
Storage
The pockets should be baked just before serving, but if they are left over, you can store them in the fridge for a couple of days and warm them slightly in the oven or microwave before enjoying.
Tips and Variations
To intensify the sweetness of the caramelized onions, you can add a few drops of honey to the filling, while to bring out the salty note more, you can add some pitted Taggiasca olives.
For this recipe, I used red onions, but golden onions are also a good alternative.
