Petite Paquets - French for "I'll have another"

Happy New Year! In my first full post of 2013, and a long overdue one at that, I want to share a dish that is perfect for nearly any occasion. This favorite recipe of mine satiates any crowd from holiday party goers to dinner guests to potluck attendees to wine night enthusiasts to Superbowl viewers (go 49ers!), these petite paquets or little packages can be served as appetizers, side dishes, or savory brunch pastries.  This is a truly versatile recipe that you should always have on hand.

Best yet, for all of us who promise to strive to stay healthy this year, my petite paquets are packed with vitamins and low in fat. The leafy greens and apples in this recipe add vitamins A, C, and K to your diet, while their high fiber content will fill you up.  This dish leaves your taste buds satisfied and doesn’t require stretchy pants!

Petite paquets on a bed of spinach for a mid afternoon snack

Petite Paquets with Greens and Apples

1 medium brown onion, diced

2 cloves garlic, minced

3 tbsp olive oil

3 medium apples (I prefer Braeburn), diced

4 stalks celery, diced

6 cups baby spinach

3 cups kale, chopped with stems removed

1 ½ tsp butter, melted

½ cup spiced walnuts, finely chopped (recipe follows)

The day before making this recipe remove phyllo (or, fillo) dough from the freezer and place in your refrigerator unopened to defrost.

Preheat oven to 400° F.  Remove phyllo dough from refrigerator and let stand at room temperature while you’re making the filling.  I must digress here for a moment while we’re on the topic of phyllo dough. I’m half Armenian and when I was a little girl my grandmother would spend hours making the most delicious pastry desserts called baklava. When I would visit during her Armenian baklava (there a many different varieties of baklava) making escapades I would help her carefully layer the thin dough with a sweet mixture made predominantly of walnut, cinnamon, and orange flower water. It was such a treat to help with the process to create these tiny, but elaborate desserts, and enjoy the melt in your mouth pastries after all that hard work! As I grew up and remembered how much I loved phyllo dough in those desserts I started using it in other recipes. I became even more intrigued by it once I learned how low in fat and calories it is relative to other pastry or pie dough. I encourage you to compare the nutrition facts on the box to other pastry dough!  Now that I’ve whet your appetite and calmed your health conscious fears, back to the recipe.

In a large sauté pan (6 qt is preferable, but 4qt will work), heat the onion garlic and olive oil over medium heat until onions begin to soften.  Add in celery and apples and cook over medium heat for 5 minutes.  Working in batches, mix in the kale and allow it to wilt slightly before adding in the spinach. Reduce heat to low and let the greens cook down for about 5 minutes.

Delicious and healthy greens! 

While the filling is cooking down, lightly and I mean lightly – think like you’re trying to pet a butterfly – brush the cups of a muffin pan with butter. You don’t want to add too much butter or the paquets will be soggy; you should have melted butter leftover.

Carefully unroll the thawed phyllo dough. If you find the dough difficult to unroll take a slightly damp tea towel and wrap it around the dough for approximately 15 minutes. Taking 4 sheets of phyllo at a time (layered on top of one another) place them on a dry cutting board and using a sharp knife cut into 5”x 6” rectangles. Lay the rectangles into each muffin cup and repeat until you have filled the muffin tin. Note: the filling of this recipe will make 24 individual paquets when using a standard muffin tin.  

Once the filling has cooked down, fill each of the muffin tin cups with the greens mixture. Sprinkle desired amount of spiced walnuts on top of the mixture. For those of you who want to take these to the next level of decadent, crumble some bacon on top of the paquets along with the walnuts! Carefully bring all 4 corners of the dough into the center, but do not press completely closed. Brush the tops of the paquets lightly with the remaining melted butter.

Bake for 8-10 minutes, or until paquets are golden brown.  Remove from oven and let cool for about 5 minutes before serving. The petite paquets are also delicious cold or room temperature. This dish truly is versatile and you can incorporate any other veggies or ingredients you have on hand. Some of my favorite variations include adding mushrooms, leeks, or fennel, or replacing the apples with pears!  Savor sinlessly!

What other combinations would you use for the filling?

Spiced Walnuts

1 cup walnut halves

1 tsp walnut oil (olive oil will also work)

1 tsp agave syrup (or honey)

1 heaping tbsp brown sugar

Pinch of cayenne pepper

Pinch of cinnamon

½ tsp kosher salt

These spiced walnuts are even more versatile than the petite paquets! Serve them as snacks, sprinkled on butternut squash soup, in muffins, or on top of oatmeal. The options are really endless.

In a large skillet, heat walnut halves, oil and agave over medium heat, stirring frequently. If the mixture appears too sticky, add a half teaspoon of warm water. Add sugar, cayenne and salt and mix thoroughly until the nuts are well coated and a rich brown color. For those of you with a high heat tolerance, feel free to add a little extra cayenne. Remove from the stove and spread into a single layer on a parchment lined cutting board or cookie sheet.

Note: this recipe will make more than the require amount of walnuts for the petite paquets.