Kale & Cheese Pinwheels

Ever since I vowed to put kale on my radar I've been doing a pretty good job and sadly, the frozen kale that I blanched this summer is dwindling, so in my next posts you may not see as much kale, but I assure you other green things will always be present in my kitchen making their way into the blogosphere, because this laugh out loud Slate article said I should be on an All Kale Diet if I want to have true meaning to my life.

As far as recipes that incorporate kale go, I'd say this one has got to be the least healthy - not really earning any real superfood points because kale enveloped in puff pastry can't really be categorized as a superfood for the fact that puff pastry negates the kale with pure butter, fat, and empty calories which I'm fairly certain Dr. Oz suggests you should eat all superfoods in that way if you're having a difficult time eating enough superfoods. And if you're wondering if kale really is the superfood its been cracked up to be for the last 5 years this article proves and explains all the beautiful aspects of kale you never knew you needed to know. 

I wanted to be so much more "foodie" with this recipe. Such aspirations I had! I was going to caramelize onions. I was going to crumble feta. I was going to make these extraordinary. I was going to create a culinary masterpiece. I was going to make this a pinwheel worthy of it's culinary calling. 

However, all of my greatest dreams were crushed because when you need to (sanely) get out the door looking like you've maybe showered with a fully clothed and fed preschooler before 9am and you've planned to roll kale and cheese into puff pastry pinwheels so that the Chatty Cathy's in my son's playtime class can eat something delicious while getting our chat on you don't have 46 extra minutes to caramelize onions because you're peeling bananas, serving bowls of cereal, and chipping remnants of last night's dinner off the dining room table before the family sits down for breakfast.

But I assure you - these pinwheels were awesome with the plain preparation that was inspired from the the back of the Pepperidge Farm Puff Pastry Box. So yummy! So eatable! So easy. But if you have Higher Foodie Aspirations may I suggest these add-ins and/or substitutions: 

• 1/2 cup caramelized onions
• 1/4 cup chopped sun-dried tomatoes
• 1/4 cup feta or goat cheese
• 2 tablespoons capers
• 2 tablespoons finely chopped dried fruit (such as: figs, raisins or apricots)
• 1-2 tablespoons chopped fresh herbs

Any way you roll it, anything wrapped in puff pastry is going to be straight up yummy!

Printable Recipe Here

Kale & Cheese Pinwheels
recipe adapted from Pepperidge Farm

Flour, for dusting board
1 sheet puff pastry
2 cups kale, blanched, chopped
Heaping 1/2 cup Jarlsberg cheese (or other similar), shredded or cubed
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/8 teaspoon smoked paprika
1 egg
1 tablespoon water

Preheat oven to 400ºF. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.

Lightly dust a work surface with flour. Unfold your puff pastry atop the flour and give it a couple rolls with a rolling pin, just to slightly flatten the dough.

Evenly scatter the kale and cheese over the puff pastry, dust with the onion and garlic powder. Starting on the long side, roll up the pastry, gently pressing the indredients into the dough.

Using a bread knife, gently saw the log into 1/2" pieces. Place pinwheels on the prepared baking sheet and sprinkle smoked paprika over each piece. Crack egg into a small dish and whisk with water. Using a pastry brush, coat each pinwheel with the egg wash.

Bake pinwheels in preheated oven for 15 minutes, or until golden brown. Cool for 5 minutes on baking sheet, then transfer to a cooling rack. Serve warm or room temperature.