Ground Meat Puff Pastry Pinwheels
These savory ground meat puff pastry pinwheels will become your favorite go-to appetizer. It requires minimal effort, few ingredients, baked in the oven, and very soon you will have hot, flaky puff pastry goodies.
General rules to work with puff pastry:
- If you’re using frozen puff pastry, you must first thaw it in the fridge overnight.
- Puff pastry dough likes cold temperatures. If you leave it out of the fridge for too long, it will become soft and sticky. In that case it does become difficult to handle, so pop it back in the fridge for 10-15 minutes.
- Sprinkle the dough LIGHTLY with flour on both sides while rolling it out to make sure it won’t stick.
- I recommend rolling out the pastry on a piece of baking paper or a silicone rolling mat.
- Rolling out the dough is important. Thinly rolled out puff pastry may look too thin prior to baking but it will puff up.
Steps:
Preheat your oven and prepare the baking tray.
Put onions, red and green bell peppers in a food processor and chop it until it is fine. Do not make a paste! Place the onion- bell pepper mixture in a strainer or cheese cloth and drain as much fluid as possible.
Add it to the ground meat along with the rest of the ingredients.
Grab your thawed puff pastry sheet and lightly flour a working surface – roll out the pastry until it’s roughly ¼” thin.
Spread the meat mixture.
Roll the filled puff pastry into a large log, gently pinching the edge together.
Using a very sharp knife carefully cut the into 14-15 pieces to reveal the pinwheel shape.
Take a large baking tray lined with parchment paper. Place the rolls on it with 1-2 inches space between each (they will expand). Press the pinwheels lightly to flatten them and adjust their shape. They should be roughly of even thickness. (If you want to be extra sure the puff pastry won’t spread too much, put the slices back in the fridge for 15 minutes before you bake them).
To give the pastry a golden color and shine as it bakes, brush a small amount of egg wash on the top and sides.
Bake the rolls at 400F for 20 minutes until deeply golden brown and flaky.
Can you freeze puff pastry pinwheels?
Yes, they can be frozen BEFORE baking. Arrange the cut slices on a baking sheet, freeze until solid, and then transfer to an airtight container or freezer bag for up to 6 months. They can be baked straight from the freezer until golden.
I DO NOT recommend freezing baked pinwheels – they won’t be crispy.
Serve with my Cilantro and Mint Chutney
Ground Meat Puff Pastry Pinwheels
Ingredients
- 250-300 gm ground meat (beef or chicken)
- 1 small onion
- 1 small red bell pepper (or use any colored bell pepper)
- 1 small green bell pepper
- 2 teaspoons ginger- garlic paste
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste (or ketchup)
- 1 teaspoon cumin powder
- 2 teaspoons paprika powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon red chili flakes (omit for non-spicy version)
- 1 tablespoon dried parsley
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 (320 gm) puff pastry sheet (thawed)
- 1 egg (beaten)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400 ℉
- Prepare a baking tray by lining it with parchment paper.
- Put onions, red and green bell peppers in a food processor and chop it until it is fine. Do not make a paste!
- Place the onion/bell pepper mixture in a strainer or cheese cloth and drain as much fluid as possible.
- Add it to the ground meat along with the rest of the ingredients – ginger garlic paste, tomato paste, cumin powder, paprika powder, salt, black pepper, red chili flakes, dry parsley and olive oil. Mix well.
- Grab the thawed puff pastry and using a rolling pin, roll it out into a thin rectangular shape roughly 1/4 inch thin. (To prevent the puff pastry from sticking, roll it out on a silicon mat or a parchment paper).
- Spread the meat mixture all over the puff pastry.
- Carefully roll the puff pastry into a log, pinching the edges to seal.
- Using a sharp knife, cut 14-15 pieces.
- Take each piece, place on the baking tray leaving 1-2 inches space between (as they will expand).
- Press them slightly to flatten them. This will create the circular pinwheel shape. They should be roughly of even thickness. (If you want to be extra sure the puff pastry won’t spread too much, put the slices back in the fridge for 15 minutes before you bake them)
- Brush a small amount of egg wash on the top and sides.
- Bake in the oven for 20-25 minutes until golden brown and flaky.
- Serve hot with a squeeze of lemon or with your favorite dip or chutney.
Notes
- Make sure to squeeze out as much liquid as possible from the chopped vegetables before adding to the meat.
- If you want to be extra sure the puff pastry won’t spread too much during baking, put the slices back in the fridge for 15 minutes before you bake them.
- To freeze unbaked pinwheels, arrange the cut slices on a baking sheet, freeze until solid, and then transfer to an airtight container or freezer bag for up to 6 months. They can be baked straight from the freezer until golden.
- Egg wash can be omitted. But to get the golden color, once baked, broil the pinwheels on high for 1-2 minutes.
