Savory, Simple Onion Pastries

By: Wes Simons | May 13 2010
Posted in Seattle - Cook It - Seattle

One of the limitations of cooking and eating locally is that ingredients for complex dishes can be hard to come by, especially in regions with poor soil and little to no rainfall. In this case, the best thing to do is look for recipes that combine simple ingredients in a new and interesting way. Easy-to-grow vegetables like onions are a good starting place, and other opportunities for nabbing local offerings, like cheese or fresh fruit, that you can find are a bonus.

This dish is one that we have at almost every appetizer-themed dinner. To begin, buy a box of puff pastry and let it defrost. While the pastry dough is defrosting, chop up some onions into small squares. Fry the onions in butter, and add brown sugar as the onions are cooking. Allow the sugar to reduce so that the mixture isn’t runny.

Onion pastries. Photo: Wes Simons

When the dough has defrosted, cut it into 2 x 2 squares and place a spoonful of the onion/sugar mixture into the center. Crumble blue cheese on top of the onions. We usually get our cheese from Beecher’s, but any blue cheese will do (and I encourage you to seek out your local creameries). Grab opposite corners of the pastry and bring them together, once all four corners are touching, gently twist the dough. The finished product should look slightly like a wonton. Place the pastries on a cookie sheet and brush a beaten egg over the top. Bake them in the oven at 425 until they are golden brown.

When you’re finished you’ll have the most delicious appetizer you’ve ever eaten, and it only took four ingredients (five if you count the sugar, and a few more if you don't take the premade pastry shortcut). One issue that arises when cooking these is that they tend to stick to the bottom of the cookie sheet. I recommend foil, a silicon baking sheet, or heavily greasing the pan to prevent this.

What other easy dishes can you make using pastry dough?