Kale in Puff Pastry

I bought some frozen puff pastry at the beginning of the holiday season believing I would surely create something delicious with it over the holidays. But here it is January 3, and there the puff pastry was still sitting in my freezer, tasking me. So I decided to make this Kale in Puff Pastry for breakfast. It turned out pretty good!

I've seen similar recipes to this one that use spinach, but I don't always have spinach on hand and I almost always have kale, so I decided to give it a go. Today I used lacinato kale, but any type of kale would be great. You could use chard or spinach in this recipe, as well.

Kale in Puff Pastry

Preheat oven to 375

One Sheet Frozen Puff Pastry

Remove the puff pastry from the freezer and allow to thaw at room temperature while you prepare the kale and sauce.

For the Kale

1/2 Small Onion, Fine Dice
1 Clove Garlic, Minced or Pressed
2 tsp Olive Oil
1 Bunch Kale, Cleaned Stemmed and Coarsely Choppped (Do not dry, the water on the leaves will aid in cooking)
Salt and Pepper
Pinch Cayenne Pepper (Optional)

Heat the olive oil in a nonstick skillet over medium low heat. Add the onion and saute until beginning to brown, 5-7 minutes. Add the garlic and cook about one more minute. Add the kale, in batches if needed, and cook until very tender. Season to taste with salt, pepper and the optional cayenne. If you opt for the cayenne, go easy, I used a bit too much for my taste. Remove the skillet from the heat and set aside while you make the sauce.

For the Sauce

1 Tbsp Butter
1 1/2 Tbsp Flour
1 Cup Milk (I used 2%)
2 Ounces Neuchatel Cheese
1/4 Cup Shredded Parmesan Cheese
Pepper
Nutmeg
One Egg beaten with 1 tsp Water

Melt the butter in a sauce pan over medium heat. Whisk in the flour and continue whisking for about a minute to cook the raw flour taste away. Slowly add the milk while constantly whisking to avoid lumps. Once all of the milk had been incorporated, heat it to a gentle simmer. Add the neuchatel cheese, one ounce at a time, stirring to incorporate completely before adding the second ounce. Then add in the parmesan cheese and stir until completely melted. Season the sauce to taste with pepper and nutmeg. You can use white pepper if you don't like black specks in your sauce.

Combine the sauce and the kale in either the skillet or the sauce pan, whichever seems to make more sense to you.

The puff pastry should be thawed by now. Carefully unroll it and place it on a piece of parchment paper on a baking sheet, pressing the seems together if necessary. Spoon the kale onto the puff pastry, leaving about a 1 inch border. Fold in the corners of the puff pastry so that they meet in the middle. (As the pastry bakes, it will move apart revealing the tasty kale inside.) Brush the tops of the pastry with the egg wash. Bake at 375 until puffy and brown, 25-30 minutes.