Peach Roses with Nutella and Hazelnuts

Beautiful rose-shaped baked dessert made with thin slices of sweet juicy ripe peaches 

wrapped in crispy pastry,  filled with creamy Nutella and crunchy crushed hazelnuts

Sinfully delicious!

Remember my rose-shaped apple dessert?  I know you do! It has been posted, shared and viewed in so many places that you think I'd be sick by now just thinking about it. But no, think again :)
I love this recipe. And what's brilliant about it: it opens up so many possibilities and combinations of ingredients, both sweet and savory, that it makes you want to experiment with something new and different. Why limit yourself to apple slice and apricot preserve, anyways?!

So, how about a filling of creamy and sweet chocolate spread?!?  You know I love Nutella! Yes, I really do. So I thought about incorporating it in my roses, combined with crushed hazelnut (of course!) for a crunchy and nutty addition to the heavenly chocolate filling.
And for the top: peaches. I found these delicious peaches at the store yesterday. They look amazing and taste even better! Ripe to the right point, and super sweet.
Rather than using the frozen puff pastry, as I did for the apple roses, I tried the Pillsbury crescent dough. Many of you asked me about it. You find it in the refrigerated section, with cookies, pizza dough and other similar things. I never buy these things ...not sure why. I rather make everything from scratch. But given that this recipe is supposed to be easy and quick, this is the place to look. And I bought the "big and flaky" dough. For thick dough and extra crispiness ... I think!
This dough bakes more quickly than the frozen dough. So watch out for the cooking time. Before removing from the oven, make sure it's fully cooked.

 Beautiful, delicious, and easy to make. Am I going rose crazy?!? Yeah, I think I am :)


Ingredients to make 8 roses

• 1 roll of Pillsbury "Grands" Crescent Big & Flaky
• 2 or 3 ripe, organic peaches, based on the size
• 8 teaspoons of Nutella (or other chocolate spread)
• 1/2 cup of chopped hazelnuts (2.5 oz,70 gr)

Preparation time: 20 minutes plus 25 minutes baking
Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to  350° F (175° C). Cut the peaches in half, remove the pit, and slice as thin as you can.

2. Open the Pillsbury roll. This is divided into triangles. Keep each pair of triangles together. We want to make two long strips out of each pair.

3. On a slightly flour counter, stretch out the dough to make a long rectangle, about 4 inches by 10 inches  (10 cm x 25 cm). Cut in half lengthwise. So that in total you will have 8 strips 2 x 10 in.

4. Spread about one teaspoon of Nutella on  each strip, and sprinkle with crushed hazelnuts.

5. Place the peach slices along one edge, as shown.

6. Fold the dough in half, and roll.

7. Place the roses into a silicone muffin. Remember to grease the muffin cups if you are not using silicone.

8. Bake at 350° F (175° C) for about 25 minutes. If the top of the peaches are getting burnt, cover with aluminum foil, and place the pan at the bottom of the oven. Make sure the roses are fully baked before removing from the oven. Sprinkle with powdered sugar and serve.

This dessert is better served immediately, but can also be stored for up to 48 hours in an air tight container. Delicious when served warm ... maybe with a scoop of vanilla ice-cream :)

Enjoy! 

Rose Shaped Eggplant Parmigiana

Let's give a new shape to the traditional Italian eggplant Parmesan!

This rose shaped appetizer is made with thin slices of eggplant rolled in buttery pastry crust, 

filled with melted mozzarella cheese and garlicky tomato sauce,

a sprinkle of oregano flakes and freshly grated Parmesan cheese.

Finally, here it is! I know many of you have been waiting for this. A savory variation of my so-talked-about rose shaped apple dessert!!
After the rave reviews and the many requests, I finally came up with something deliciously savory, vegetarian and quite healthy. And (of course!) pretty and elegant, shaped like a rose. Something  you will want to try as soon as you see how easy it is to prepare. This is going to be a sure hit at your next party.
This recipe is just as easy as the apple roses', but made with scrumptiously savory Mediterranean ingredients. All you have to do is spread tomato sauce and shredded mozzarella cheese on strips of puff pastry. Place the eggplant slices on the strips, sprinkle with oregano flakes and garlic infused olive oil. Roll up the roses and bake. It's so much fun looking at these roses come alive right under your eyes!
When ready, you might thinks that these eggplant Parmesan roses are too pretty to be eaten. Well... think again! When the amazing aroma coming from your oven hits your nostrils, you will not be able to resist.
So, ready for this recipe?!? Hold on tight, and start taking notes so you can head right to the store and get what you need. My only suggestion: make sure you bake enough for everybody!

Buon appetito!

Ingredients to make 6 roses:                                 Printable Recipe

• 1 medium eggplant (about 12 oz, 340 gr)
• 1 frozen puff pastry sheet, thawed
• 1 cup of crushed tomatoes (I like San Marzano)
• 1 garlic clove
• 1 tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil
• a couple of leaves of fresh basil
• 6 tablespoons of shredded mozzarella
• oregano flakes
• garlic infused olive oil (optional)
• freshly grated Parmesan cheese to sprinkle on top
• salt

Preparation time: 20 minutes to prepare, plus 45 minutes to bake
Directions:
1. Thaw the puff pastry if you haven't done so. It should be outside the freezer for 20-30 minutes.
Prepare the tomato sauce: in a small pan, saute' for one minute the crushed garlic clove with one tablespoon of olive oil. Add the crushed tomatoes and salt to taste. Let the sauce simmer for a few minutes. Add the basil leaves after about five minutes. Turn off the heat when ready.

2. Peel the eggplant and slice as this as you can. Cut the slices in half. Sprinkle with salt and drizzle with garlic infused olive oil, if you have it, or regular extra virgin olive oil.

3. Unwrap the puff pastry (9 in x 9 in) over a clean and lightly floured counter.  Using a rolling pin stretch the dough a little, in one direction, trying to keep it in a rectangular shape. Cut the dough in 6 strips, about 2 in x 9 in (5 cm x 22 cm).

4. Preheat the oven to 350° F (175° C). Spread about one tablespoon of tomato sauce on each strip.

5. Sprinkle each strip with about one tablespoon of shredded mozzarella .

6. Place the eggplant slices as shown in the picture.

7. Sprinkle with oregano.

8. Fold up the bottom of the dough.

9. Carefully roll, seal the edge and place in a silicone muffin cup. No greasing is needed for silicone muffin mold. Make sure to spray regular muffin tin.

10. Do the same steps for the other 5 strips. Bake for about 40-45 minutes,on the lower rack. Check after the first 30 minutes. If the top of the eggplant slices are starting to burn, cover with aluminum foil for the remaining of the time.

Note: Before removing from the oven, make sure the pastry is fully cooked on the inside.
11. Sprinkle with freshly grated Parmesan cheese and serve immediately.

Buon appetito!

Apple Roses

Impress your guests with this beautiful rose-shaped dessert

made with lots of soft and delicious apple slices, wrapped in sweet and crispy puff pastry

If you are a Pinterest fanatic and enjoy browsing through all the delicious food selection like I do, I'm sure you have seen photos of this amazing dessert. There are many variations, but all very similar. And all (or most!) very beautiful.
So, the other day I got inspired, and looked up a bunch of recipes to try out these apple roses. There are several ways you can prepare them. You can make your own dough or, like I did, use store bought frozen puff pastry. It's much easier and a lot quicker!
All you have to do is defrost the dough, and stretch it out a bit. You want to make sure it's not too thick, or it might not cook properly.  I spread the dough with apricot preserve, but you could also use peach, plum ... or what you like. Slice the apples really thin. Cook to make them softer and easier to work with. And then just have fun with rolling the dough with the apples, like my pictures down here will show you.
And for all the cinnamon lovers out there, don't forget to sprinkle your apples with as much (or as little) cinnamon as you wish.
You will be surprised by how easy is to make this simply beautiful dessert. Ready to try it out?
Here is my video recipe:

Also, check out my new recipe for a savory appetizer: Rose Shaped Eggplant Parmigiana. As beautiful and as delicious! Click here to see my YouTube video.

Ingredients: to make 6 roses                                       Printable Recipe                Leggi in Italiano

• 1 frozen puff pastry sheet, thawed
• 2 red organic apples (I used red delicious)
• half lemon, juice
• 1 tablespoon of flour, to sprinkle the counter
• 3 tablespoons of apricot preserve
• cinnamon (optional)
• powder sugar for decorating (optional)

Preparation time: about 20 minutes to prepare, plus 45 minutes to bake
Directions:
1. Thaw the puff pastry if you haven't done so yet. It should take about 20-30 minutes.
2. Prepare a bowl with some water and the lemon juice. Cut the apples in half, remove the core and cut the apples in paper thin slices, as shown in my picture. Leave the peel so it will give the red color to your roses. Right away, place the sliced apples in the bowl with lemon and water, so that they won't change color.

3. Microwave the apples in the bowl, for about 3 minutes, to make them slightly softer. If you prefer, you can also simmer the apple slices in the water in a small pan (on the stove).

4. Unwrap the puff pastry over a clean and lightly floured counter. Using a rolling pin stretch the dough a little, trying to keep it in a rectangular shape. Cut the dough in 6 strips. These are about 2 in x 9 in (5 cm x 22 cm).

5. In a bowl, place three tablespoons of apricot preserve with two tablespoons of water. Microwave for about one minute, so that the preserve will be easier to spread. Spread the preserve on the dough.

6. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Drain the apples.

7. Place the apples on the dough, as shown in my picture. Sprinkle with cinnamon if you'd like.

8. Fold up the bottom part of the dough.

9. Carefully roll, seal the edge, and place in a silicone muffin cup. No need to grease the muffin mold if it's silicone. Otherwise, make sure to grease it.

10. Do the same for all 6 roses. Bake at 375 degrees F (190 degrees C) for about 40-45 minutes, until fully cooked.
NOTE: make sure the pastry is fully cooked on the inside before removing the roses from the oven! If after 30 minutes the apples on top look fully cooked, move the pan to a lower rack in the oven, and wait for 10-15 more minutes to avoid undercooking the puff pastry.

Sprinkle with powder sugar and enjoy!