Tuna Puff Pastry Pinwheels

My Tuna Puff Pastry Pinwheels are the ultimate, easily prepared appetiser, suitable to serve either hot or at room temperature. However, they are not just for entertaining; they are great served as snacks or ideal to add to school or work lunch boxes.

Course Appetiser, Snack

Cuisine International

Prep Time 20

Cook Time 15

Total Time 35

Servings pinwheels

Calories 119kcal

Author Alexandra Cook - It's Not Complicated Recipes

Ingredients

1 sheet puff pastry See Note 1
2 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil
1 medium brown/yellow onion - finely diced
185 g (6.5 oz) canned tuna in oil - well-drained See Note 2
⅓ cup cheddar cheese - grated See Note 3
3 tablespoon flat-leaf parsley - finely chopped See Notes 4 and 5
1 teaspoon lemon zest See Note 6
¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper - optional
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper - to taste

Instructions

Preheat your oven to 200 degrees C (390 F). Prepare a baking tray with baking paper.
Remove the puff pastry from the freezer and defrost. Return pastry to fridge once defrosted to keep chilled.
Finely chop your onion, and fry gently in olive oil for about 8-10 minutes, or until slightly caramelised. Set aside to cool.
Drain the can of tuna and add to a medium size bowl. Mash to break up any large pieces.
Add the cooked onion and remaining ingredients to the tuna, and mix well to combine.
Check that the seasoning is to your taste, adding more salt, pepper or lemon zest if necessary.
Top the pastry with your tuna mixture. Evenly spread mixture, being sure to leave a small gap around the edge of the pastry.
Using the back of a spoon or rubber spatula, press down on the mixture to compact it.
Slowly start to roll the pastry from the end nearest you. Keep rolling forward, reasonably firmly, keeping it as tight as possible, until you have come to the end of the roll.
Return the puff pastry to the refrigerator for about 15 minutes to firm up.
Using a serrated knife, trim the ends and discard.
Then, using the same knife, slice each pinwheel approximately 1.5 cm (½ ") thick.
Place your pinwheels on a baking tray. If a little mixture falls out, just push it back in gently. See Note 7.
Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until golden brown and the pastry is cooked through.
Serve warm from the oven or allow to cool to room temperature (this is my favourite way to enjoy them!)
If making in advance, store in the fridge in an airtight container for up to 4 days. Reheat in a pre-heated oven at 180 degrees C (350 F) for about 7 minutes to crisp the pastry.
They also freeze well. Allow them to cool completely then arrange them on a single layer on a baking tray and place in the freezer. When frozen, you can store them in an airtight container or zip-lock bag for up to two months. You can reheat them from frozen by placing in a pre-heated oven at 180 degrees C (350 F) for about 10 minutes.

Notes

My puff pastry sheet measured 24 cm X 24 cm (9 ½″) square. If the puff pastry defrosts before you have prepared the filling, place the puff pastry in the refrigerator until ready to use. It must remain chilled.
I find that tuna packed in oil has a better flavour. However, if you prefer, you can use tuna packed in water.
I use a full-flavoured cheese. Cheddar is sometimes also known as matured cheese or tasty cheese.
Continental/Italian parsley is the flat-leaf variety. To me, the flavour and texture is superior to curly parsley.
The Australian tablespoon is 20 ml or 4 teaspoons. In many other countries, the tablespoon is 15 ml or 3 teaspoons. If necessary, please adjust your measurements.
Be careful to remove just the zest and avoid the bitter white pith.
On a warmer day, you may need to chill your pinwheels once you have sliced them, before placing them in the oven.
Please note, the nutritional information is based on one pinwheel. The nutritional information is an estimate only.

Nutrition