Puff Pastry Squares with Asparagus, Camembert, and Prosciutto

I have only made puff pastry from scratch once before, during the baking class component of culinary school. I remember it required a lot of work, with an unintuitively precise set of unique folding steps and required resting periods.

In a blind tasting, I would have guessed that my homemade puff pastry was inferior to the storebought option. It also requires so much time and space to make from scratch! At the end of the day, I suppose I feel similarly about puff pastry as I do about phyllo dough—it’s hard to make well yourself, and it’s really easy to buy from the store and keep frozen for whenever you are ready to use it.

While the appetizer below includes asparagus, Camembert cheese, apple, honey, and prosciutto, you can easily add or adjust ingredients based on whatever you have lying around in your fridge. You can use the puff pastry base to make appetizers that are bold and spicy, rich and savory, or even sweet!

The following recipe makes roughly 24 small squares, from two sheets of puff pastry.

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Puff Pastry Squares with Asparagus, Camembert, and Prosciutto

I have only made puff pastry from scratch once before, during the baking class component of culinary school. I remember it required a lot of work, with an unintuitively precise set of unique folding steps and required resting periods.

In a blind tasting, I would have guessed that my homemade puff pastry was inferior to the storebought option. It also requires so much time and space to make from scratch! At the end of the day, I suppose I feel similarly about puff pastry as I do about phyllo dough—it’s hard to make well yourself, and it’s really easy to buy from the store and keep frozen for whenever you are ready to use it.

While the appetizer below includes asparagus, Camembert cheese, apple, honey, and prosciutto, you can easily add or adjust ingredients based on whatever you have lying around in your fridge. You can use the puff pastry base to make appetizers that are bold and spicy, rich and savory, or even sweet!

The following recipe makes roughly 24 small squares, from two sheets of puff pastry.

Ingredients

• 24 asparagus (ends removed)
• 2 sheets of storebought puff pastry (cut into 12 squares each)
• 12 oz Camembert cheese (divided into 24 pieces)
• A tiny sprinkle of red pepper flakes
• 2 Honeycrisp apples (cut into thin slices)
• 8 oz prosciutto (very finely sliced)
• 2 Tbsp honey (for drizzling on top after baking)
• 4 chives (finely sliced, as garnish)
• A small sprinkle of Kosher salt and a few grinds of fresh black pepper.

Instructions 

• Preheat the oven to 375˚F.
• Cut the asparagus into bite-sized pieces.
• Arrange the puff pastry squares onto parchment paper-lined sheet trays, with roughly 12 squares on each tray.
• Divide the Camembert cheese evenly among the puff pastry squares, trying your best to add the cheese to cover the inside of the puff pastry.
• Add a sprinkle of red pepper flakes.
• Add the thin slices of apple to the puff pastry squares.
• Add the cut pieces of asparagus to the puff pastry.
• Bake in the oven at 375˚F for roughly 20 minutes, or until the pastry is golden-brown and crispy on the bottom.
• When the puff pastry squares are cooked, divide the finely-sliced prosciutto and add it on top.
• *I like to add the prosciutto after the puff pastry squares come out of the oven.
• Add a drizzle of honey and finely-sliced chives as a garnish.
• Sprinkle with a tiny bit of Kosher salt and a few grinds of fresh black pepper.
• Serve the puff pastry squares immediately, with extra napkins.

Notes

These are best eaten fresh, right out of the oven, although you can reheat them in the oven and they still taste wonderful.