Toasted walnuts, fresh asparagus, and a lemony and creamy mascarpone filling are all wrapped up in the beautiful braided pasty recipe. It looks quite impressive but is deceptively simple and uses a sheet of store-bought puff pastry. The key to working with store bought puff is to let it thaw enough to make it workable but prevent it from becoming too warm or soft. I usually keep it in the fridge overnight and then pull it to sit at room temperature for about 15 minutes before using. For a visual of the braiding process see my instagram post.
Braided Asparagus & Mascarpone Pastry
Prep time
Cook time
Total time
Ingredients
- 1 small bunch asparagus
- 1 sheet store bought puff pastry (1/2 of a 17-ounce package), thawed but still cold to the touch
- ½ cup mascarpone
- ¼ cup heavy cream
- 1 lemon, zested
- Salt and freshly ground pepper
- ½ cup fresh grated parmesan
- ⅓ cup walnuts, toasted and chopped
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment.
- In a medium bowl stir together mascarpone, cream, lemon zest, and salt and pepper to taste. Set aside.
- Unfold puff pastry sheet and roll out until a little thinner and seams disappear. Score dough gently to divide into thirds (similar to how seams divided dough into thirds before you rolled it out). On the two outer thirds, make horizontal cuts from the edges of the dough to the scored line, keeping the middle third uncut. Cuts should about 1 inch apart.
- Spoon about ⅔ of reserved filling mixture into the center section of the pastry, spreading evenly. Arrange asparagus on top of filling. Season with salt and pepper. Spoon remaining filling on top, then sprinkle with walnuts. Top with parmesan. Working from the top of the pasty to the bottom, bring a strip from one side of the pastry over to the next, then a strip from the other side of the pastry over the filling to the side you started with. Continuing bringing strips over the filling, alternating sides. Gently fold the top and bottom edge up slightly over the filling to seal.
- Bake on prepared baking sheet for about 20-25 minutes, until golden brown and cooked through, turning halfway through cooking. Slice and serve warm or room temperature.
- Braided Asparagus & Mascarpone Pastry
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