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Snack & Appetizers

Cotechino in Puff Pastry

Cotechino in Puff Pastry: crisp pastry, spinach, and a cotechino center. A quick recipe, perfect for impressing at the holidays.
Recipe Cotechino in Puff Pastry
  • Difficulty Easy
  • Preparation 30 minutes
  • Cooking 1 hour
  • Servings for 6 people

If you are looking for holiday dinner ideas with cotechino and want to surprise your guests with a showstopping cotechino dish, this cotechino in puff pastry recipe is the winning choice. Picture bringing to the table a flavorful meat main course in a pastry crust, where classic cotechino, the Italian pork sausage that has always starred at the holidays, is wrapped in flaky, golden puff pastry with layers of fresh spinach: every bite is a feast of flavors and contrasts, as appealing to the eye as to the palate.

The simplicity of how to make cotechino in puff pastry lets you serve an elegant dish without complicating your life in the kitchen. In less than an hour – most of it spent with the oven doing its magic – you will have baked cotechino with a crisp, golden crust, perfect to serve as a holiday appetizer with cotechino at an elegant aperitivo or as the centerpiece of your special-occasion menu. The result is so inviting that you might also serve it as finger food for a Christmas buffet, since it is easy to slice into portions and always a hit.

If you want to explore other tasty ideas, we suggest pairing the cotechino in puff pastry recipe with classics like Cotechino with Lentils or trying something more creative, like the Polenta Canapés with Lentils and Cotechino. If you love crisp crusts and hearty dishes, we also suggest the elegant Beef Wellington, the rustic Falsomagro in a Pastry Crust, and the flavorful Meat Pie.

This easy cotechino recipe also works as cotechino and mashed potatoes in pastry for those who want an even creamier touch. Bring some cheer to the table with your cotechino in puff pastry: nobody will be able to resist.

Ingredients for 6 people

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Method

  1. To make the Cotechino in Puff Pastry, start by cooking the cotechino, following the directions on the package. While the cotechino cooks, wash and trim the spinach. In a large skillet, sauté a little shallot and a clove of garlic in a drizzle of olive oil. Add the spinach a little at a time, season with salt and pepper, and cook until tender.
    Spinach cooking in a skillet
    Spinach blended with cheese
  2. When the spinach is cooked, remove it from the skillet, put it in a strainer, and press lightly to drain off the cooking liquid. Once it is well squeezed, put it in a food processor with the egg, the grated cheese, and a pinch of salt, and blend everything.
    Making Cotechino in Puff Pastry, photo 1
    Making Cotechino in Puff Pastry, photo 2
  3. When the cotechino is cooked, remove it from the pot, peel off the casing, and let it cool. Take the roll of puff pastry and trim it to the size of your cotechino, which will leave you a strip of pastry to use for decoration.
    Making Cotechino in Puff Pastry, photo 3
    Making Cotechino in Puff Pastry, photo 4
  4. Now spread a generous layer of the chopped spinach over the pastry, taking care to leave some space around the edges. Then lay the cotechino, which will have cooled in the meantime, along one side.
    Making Cotechino in Puff Pastry, photo 5
    Making Cotechino in Puff Pastry, photo 6
  5. Roll everything up tightly and seal it by folding the ends over themselves.
    Making Cotechino in Puff Pastry, photo 7
    Making Cotechino in Puff Pastry, photo 9
  6. Using a cookie cutter, cut little stars out of the strip of puff pastry you set aside earlier, moisten one side of the stars with a little water, and place them on the cotechino roll, pressing lightly. Brush everything with a little beaten egg yolk and milk and sprinkle with poppy seeds and sesame seeds.
    Making Cotechino in Puff Pastry, photo 11
    Making Cotechino in Puff Pastry, photo 12
  7. Bake in a conventional oven preheated to 200 °C (400 °F), or 180 °C (350 °F) for a convection oven, for 25-30 minutes. When it is nicely golden, take it out of the oven and let it rest for a few moments before serving this wonderful Cotechino in Puff Pastry. Finally, remember to download our App with exclusive content and fewer ads!
    Cotechino wrapped in puff pastry

Variations and Alternatives

Instead of the spinach cream, you can make a lentil cream. Or, if you prefer, you can replace the cotechino with Cooked Salami.

Tips

For speed we used precooked cotechino, but if you prefer you can also use a classic one, bearing in mind that it will take a couple of hours to cook.

For an even more showstopping dish, simply cut a strip of puff pastry about 10 cm long and cut out shapes with a star-shaped cutter (or any shape you like), then place them on top of the Cotechino in Puff Pastry before baking.

Storage

Cotechino in Puff Pastry is best eaten right away, but leftovers keep in the refrigerator for one day in an airtight container.

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