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Savory Palmiers with Sun Dried Tomatoes and Pesto

Savory Palmiers - with Sun Dried Tomatoes and Pesto

Sometimes appetizers are more like meals than small-bites before dinner. A glass of wine in hand, good company and conversation, paired with tasty bites is sometimes the meal for me and the meal becomes the appetizer. This scenario is especially true when the appetizers are chock-full of my favorite flavors.    That’s the case with these savory palmiers I watched Ina Garten, of the Barefoot Contessa, make last week.   I’ve been catching her show these days as I’m preparing dinner and, like her Cranberry Harvest Muffins with Figs I baked up earlier this month, she has been inspiring me to no end these days!

These palmiers were easy to assemble. The flavor combinations of the pesto, sun dried tomatoes, goat cheese and pine nuts – in addition to the delicate puffed pastry layers that lovingly wraps around these tasties, make it a sure crowd-pleasing appetizer.  Don’t like goat cheese?  Omit it or use feta if you prefer.    My mind is swimming with the endless possibilities of flavor combinations.  If you like the ingredients I mentioned…I don’t think you’ll be disappointed.

The ingredient list is for use on two separate puff pastry sheets.   When I rolled out my first pastry sheet and used half the ingredients from the original recipe, I thought to myself…that’s not going to be enough savory goodness in these rolls.    The second sheet, I doubled the ingredients and it proved to be a good thing.    It’s purely preference, so please adjust to your liking.     Also, I omitted adding salt and instead added grinded Tellicherry peppercorns.

There’s some chilling time involved with these easy-to-do appetizers, so plan accordingly.

Teenie Notes

  • I doubled the ingredients for more filling in these palmiers (the doubled ingredient measurements are already reflected below).
  • Feta cheese would also be a great substitute for the goat cheese.
  • I’ve omitted using additional salt in these and added pepper instead. Depending on your preference you may want to add more salt, but I really didn’t think it was needed (personal health preference).
  • I baked up one roll of the palmiers right away and saved the other roll for another evening.
  • If you’re making these for a time sensitive occasion, allow enough time for the chilling process of about an hour.
  • If you haven’t made or shaped out palmiers before (as I had not), here’s a link to further clarify how Ina folded the puff pastry. Speed up the YouTube video to 2:58 if you don’t want to watch the whole episode which involves making pesto: Watch Ina fold puff pastry for palmiers.
Savory Palmiers – with Sun Dried Tomatoes and Pesto

source modified from Ina Garten – Barefoot Contessa

Makes 50-60 palmiers (this will vary depending how thick you cut the dough)

Savory Palmiers - with Sun Dried Tomatoes and Pesto

Ingredients

1 package of Pepperidge Farm puff pastry, defrosted (two sheets)

1/2 cup prepared pesto
1/2 cup finely chopped sundried tomatoes, drained
3/4 cup crumbled goat -OR- feta cheese
1/2 cup toasted pine nuts, pignolias

Tellicherry Peppercorns, grinded to taste

Directions

Roast the pine nuts
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Place pine nuts on a baking sheet and roast in oven for 5-8 minutes -or- until very lightly browned, shaking the pan half way through roasting time to rotate the pine nuts for even browning. Remove from the oven immediately and let cool before using.

Assemble the Ingredients

Lightly flour a board or rolling mat, and rolling pin. Using one sheet of puff pastry, lightly roll the pastry to 9 1/2 x 11 1/2 inches. Spread half of the pesto evenly on the puff pastry, including along the edges of the long-side (the short ends will be snipped off, so there’s no need to spread the ingredients all the way to the edge of the short ends). Sprinkle with half of the goat cheese, half of the sundried tomatoes and half of the roasted pine nuts. Grind fresh Tellicherry peppercorns to taste.

Savory Palmiers - Prep

Working from the short ends, visualize four evenly sized sections. You will make two folds per side so that the sides meet up in the middle.    Fold each end halfway to the center, then fold again towards the center for a total of 2 folds per each side.   Fold one side over the other and press lightly.    (Note: If you’re not familiar with folding dough for the palmier shape, view the link I’ve provided in the notes above for a video demonstration).   Place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.

Repeat the directions for the second sheet of puff pastry using the rest of the ingredients.   Cover with plastic wrap and chill for at least another 45 minutes to an hour.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Remove the roll(s) from the refrigerator and, using a sharp serrated knife, gently cut the chilled rolls, using a back-and-forth, sawing motion, into 1/4-inch thick slices.    As you’re slicing the dough, rotate the roll to help maintain the shape of the rolled dough.

Place the slices face up on parchment lined baking sheets about an 1 1/2 to 2-inches apart.

Bake 14 minutes -OR- until the puff pastry is a golden brown.

Serve warm and enjoy!

Savory Palmiers - with Sun Dried Tomatoes and Pesto

Reader Interactions

Comments

  2. Sprinkles of Parsley says

    I almost made these yesterday!! After seeing your pictures- I’m DEFINITELY going to make them ASAP. These look incredible!! I love every ingredient you used and am officially craving this. 🙂

  3. Priscilla - She's Cookin' says

    My husband and I have a Friday night tradition of making dinner from an assortment of small bites along with a martini or two. I love the flavor combinations you used here, but the best part is that with a little creativity, the possibilities are endless!

  5. Evan @swEEts says

    I have yet to try sweet or savory palmiers but I think I need to as soon as possible. All these wonderful apps keeping popping up for parties and I’m so bummed I can’t host my own and share them all! I hope you have a wonderful New Years 🙂

  10. MaryMoh says

    Beautiful finger food. I love all those crunchy pine nuts there. In this freezing weather, I think I will eat them non stop once I start 🙂 Thanks very much for sharing. Happy Holidays!

  11. Chef Dennis says

    Cristina
    those palmiers look delicious!! definitely doubling the filling was a good choice, I do love goat cheese but feta would be nice too…..yum, maybe bleu cheese too!
    The pine nuts are really a great addition to this palmier, great job!
    Dennis

  12. Lindsey @ Gingerbread Bagels says

    I have been dying to try these every since I saw them in my Barefoot Contessa book! Your palmiers look absolutely gorgeous! I love the idea of using feta too. YUM! I so need to make these, yours look incredibly delicious. 🙂

  16. whatsfordinneracrossstatelines says

    These are my kind of appetizer too! Love all the flavors in there, love using ready puff pastry too. I will have to watch the video, I’ve never folded them before. I think I will have a new appetizer to try for New Years. Happy New Years!
    -Gina-

  19. Jean says

    Every time I see palmiers I think of Ina and I always promise myself to make them but I never do. These would be so perfect for a New Year’s Eve party (or anytime, really). Your palmiers are so perfectly shaped and I love that you doubled the filling. Just in case I haven’t mentioned it, I like the “Teenie Notes” feature of your posts.

    Happy New Year, Cristina!

  21. Stephanie says

    These look delish! I’m always searching for something to make with puff pastry since I make such large batches of it – so thank you for sharing this savory item!

  23. GourmetGetaways says

    I would have loved to be in your kitchen and smelt the gorgeous aroma of these little morsels cooking! Yummy! I will be trying these very soon. (I always double the tasty bits of a recipe)

  24. Pachecopatty says

    I love making and eating appetizers like these savory little palmiers. They are so attractive and delicious:) You’ve taken some nice photos of your beautiful palmiers.

  25. Sandy says

    Cristina, I really wished you lived next door-but then I would be as large as a house ! These look so delicious. I love palmiers and another great appetizer for New Years.

  27. Monet says

    Oh delicious! Pesto and sundried tomatoes sound like a winning combination to me. And I’m always a fan of puff pastry. Thank you for sharing this deliciousness with me. These would be perfect at a New Years party. I hope you have a wonderful week, my friend!

  31. veggietestkitchen says

    Ina’s so awesome isnt she?! I saw this episode last week and was tempted to make these for Xmas eve dinner. I like your tip about doubling the filling. I agree with you. I prefer more ‘stuff’ and less pastry crust. cheers!

  32. Roxan says

    Speaking of your mind swimming with endless variations… I totally thought the pinenuts in your pictures were cloves of garilc! That would taste amazing in these savory palmiers too, I think.
    I love puff pastry! My friend got mad yesterday because I ate all the puff pastry off the top of her steak and guiness pie at our party yesterday. Oops!

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