Ready for an easy recipe, perfect for a dinner or for an aperitif with friends? Let’s make the puff pastry with potatoes and onions! Maybe it won’t be a real puff pastry in the strict sense — I could simply call it a savory pie with potatoes and onions since I’ll be using a ready-made puff pastry sheet — but I like to call it a “sfogliata” because each layer of this preparation gives the palate an explosion of taste and flavor!
This recipe is so easy that even a child could prepare it, perfect for those approaching cooking for the first time or for anyone who wants to try a basic kitchen preparation. Puff pastry was one of the first ingredients I learned to work with. I used to make savory pies, desserts and some delicacies that are still part of my signature dishes today.
Thinking about what to propose as a new recipe for the blog, I remembered this savory pie with onions and potatoes that I made as a teenager. If I invited friends or a boyfriend to dinner, this puff pastry with onion and potatoes was often among the first choices on the menu. I love the combo of potato and onion, especially on pizza, and this savory pie is very reminiscent of pizza because we’ll create a crispy base with a soft topping that provides contrasts in both texture and flavor.
Here are a few ideas you can try always using puff pastry, whether round or rectangular of course. I’d suggest the burek, the Albanian savory pie with spinach and cheese. Then there’s the savory pie with asparagus and pancetta: since it’s spring, you should be able to find asparagus easily and affordably at the supermarket. Finally, I invite you to read the tips for getting perfectly golden puff pastry that I shared a few months ago. Clear, direct advice to help you in the kitchen!
Before moving on to today’s recipe, I remind you that I wait for you every morning in the Facebook group and fan page of Le Ricette di Bea with the Recipe of the Day! A must-see appointment to start the day with a sweet or savory treat! I also inform you that from April 1st the blog’s free newsletter service starts: one email per month, on the first of the month, with three recipes linked by an ingredient or theme. Just leave your email in the sign-up form to subscribe!
- Difficulty: Very easy
- Cost: Very affordable
- Preparation time: 10 Minutes
- Cooking time: 50 Minutes
- Portions: 6 Servings
- Cooking methods: Oven
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: Autumn, Winter and Spring, All seasons
- Energy 361.49 (Kcal)
- Carbohydrates 31.26 (g) of which sugars 2.61 (g)
- Proteins 7.20 (g)
- Fat 23.55 (g) of which saturated 5.28 (g)of which unsaturated 14.33 (g)
- Fibers 2.25 (g)
- Sodium 400.16 (mg)
Indicative values for a portion of 100 g processed in an automated way starting from the nutritional information available on the CREA* and FoodData Central** databases. It is not food and / or nutritional advice.
* CREATES Food and Nutrition Research Center: https://www.crea.gov.it/alimenti-e-nutrizione https://www.alimentinutrizione.it ** U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. https://fdc.nal.usda.gov
Ingredients for a puff pastry with potatoes and onions
- 1 roll puff pastry (rectangular)
- 2 potatoes (medium-large)
- 1 white onion (medium-large)
- 3.5 oz cheese (grated)
- 1 tbsp flour
- to taste extra virgin olive oil
- 1 pinch salt
- 1 pinch pepper
- A few leaf thyme
Choose the grated cheese you prefer, from Grana Padano to Parmigiano Reggiano or Pecorino Romano. If you opt for the latter, remember that its saltiness will be accentuated during cooking, so don’t add too much salt while preparing this savory pie with potatoes and onions.
Tools to prepare the fragrant and delicious savory pie with potatoes and onions
- 1 Mandoline
- 1 Bowl
- 1 Knife
- 1 Peeler
- 1 Spoon
- 1 Oven
- 1 Baking sheet
- 2 Parchment paper
- 1 Toothpick
If you don’t have a mandoline, you can slice the potatoes and onion fairly thinly with a knife, using a wooden cutting board. If you want to buy the mandoline like mine, you can click the link in the list of useful tools for this recipe.
Steps for the puff pastry with potatoes and onions recipe
I preheat the oven in static mode to 356°F so it’s hot when I go to bake the upside-down puff pastry with onions and potatoes.
I start the preparation with the potatoes and onion. I peel the potatoes with a peeler and remove the onion skin with a knife. I take the mandoline and slice both ingredients. I set the blade to the second notch to get slices of potatoes and onion that are not too thin. I put the slices in a bowl and season with extra virgin olive oil, salt, pepper and the thyme leaves. Then I add a little grated cheese and the amount of flour indicated. I mix with a spoon to coat everything well.
I place a sheet of parchment paper on a baking sheet and spread the potato and onion mixture in the center. I already shape it into a rectangle to form the base of the upside-down pie. I drizzle with a little extra virgin olive oil. I bake it in the lower part of the oven and let it cook for about 20 minutes. After this first baking time, I take it out and sprinkle a little grated cheese on top. I return it to the oven and let it cook for a couple more minutes.
Now be careful not to burn yourself because I will place the rectangular puff pastry sheet over the potato and onion base. With my hands I also try to create the edges around the base. I poke holes with a toothpick to let moisture escape during baking. I put it back in the oven and let it bake for 25-30 minutes. This is the third, but not the last, baking stage of the potato and onion puff pastry. So don’t turn off the oven yet.
Now I flip the pastry by helping myself with a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or a large plate. I reposition the puff pastry in the center of the baking sheet.
I sprinkle the surface with some grated cheese. If you have Pecorino Romano it works well, or even pizza mozzarella that doesn’t release water during cooking. I put the baking sheet back in the oven and let it cook for the final minutes, just enough to melt the cheese. The baking sheet should always be placed in the lower part of the oven during all baking stages of the savory pie with potatoes and onion. Now I’m done with baking and I can turn off the oven!
I’m finally ready to serve the potato and onion puff pastry at the table. What an appetite, guys, you could smell it while it was baking! All that’s left is to wish you a good meal and remind you that I wait for you every day here on my blog with many easy, quick and delicious recipes like this one!
Storage, tips and variations of the recipe:
Storage of the potato and onion puff pastry: you can store this savory pie in a lidded container in the refrigerator for a couple of days. Of course the puff pastry will lose its crispness, but never its flavor. Remember to reheat it in a preheated oven before serving it again.
Tips for the recipe: if you don’t have a mandoline, try to slice the potatoes and onion as thinly as possible, of course without cutting yourself. Don’t keep the oven too hot, especially during the first baking phase of the potatoes and onions. They might burn and darken. If you choose Pecorino Romano as the grated cheese for this recipe, remember not to add too much salt so as not to accentuate the savoriness of the savory pie.
Variations of the recipe: as mentioned, if you don’t have a rectangular puff pastry sheet you can use a round sheet, just arrange the potatoes and onion on the baking sheet in a circle instead of a rectangle. As suggested, choose the cheese you prefer and, if you don’t have thyme or don’t like it, choose rosemary, which is a classic pairing with onion and potato.
