You know those French stuffed puff pastry patties? That’s what you call a pit river. They come from France, originally from the town of Pithiviers, and you can recognize them by the pattern of lines in the puff pastry on the top. You can make the filling of anything. The first time I made them was in a kitchen where I worked as a cook. I really enjoyed making them, because you can really “stuff” everything into them. The trick is to put the filling in the middle and not smear it. This way the pastry bakes very nicely and nothing drips out.
Last week I posted about small pizzettas (at least that’s what I called them). These were made of sweet potato wedges, tomato sauce and olives. We were making sweet potato dishes again and a package of puff pastry was about to run out, so I had to think carefully: What can I do with this?
I thought maybe I can make some sort of pastry out of it? And yes, I just do it! The principle is the same as with the pizzettas but with a puff pastry cover !! You will have this deliciously healthy snack on the table in no time. You can also add anchovies or ham for guaranteed success on your Friday night with friends! Or just when you want a nice snack with the movie.
Ingredients
This recipe depends on your desired amount. Assume one slice of sweet potato per 2 rounds of puff pastry.
- puff pastry
- sweet potato, sliced
- tomato sauce
- black olives without stone
- a slice of mozzarella or other cheese may also be grated
- a dash of olive oil
- 1 teaspoon of oregano
- half a teaspoon of thyme
- half a teaspoon of rosemary
- salt and pepper
Preparation
Preheat the oven to 180 degrees and prepare a large baking tray with parchment paper. Wash and peel the sweet potatoes. Cut thin slices about half an inch and toss them into a large bowl. Pour over the olive oil, rosemary, thyme and a pinch of salt and pepper, toss everything together, and place the slices of sweet potato on the baking tray. Grill them for 5 to 10 minutes. The exact time depends on the thickness of the slices.
Meanwhile, mix the tomato sauce with oregano, salt and pepper in a small bowl. Get your mozzarella or grated cheese ready and cut the olives in half lengthwise.
Place your puff pastry on the parchment paper. Cut out a number of circles with a dough cutter or with a large glass. The circles should be large enough that one of your sweet potato wedges can lie on them with some extra space all around. You make twice as many rounds of puff pastry as you have potato slices.
Let the sweet potato slices cool when they are done, but leave the oven on. You need two rounds of puff pastry per potato slice. Place a slice of sweet potato on the bottom round of dough, a little tomato sauce in the middle, a heap of grated cheese and then the olive. Using a fork or knife, make shallow cuts in another round of puff pastry. You can make its design as weird as you want. Letters, animals, anything is possible. Now place your lightly cut round of dough on top of your topped potato slice. Just make sure your design is on the top and not on the inside! With a fork or your fingers, press the dough of the top and bottom layers of puff pastry close together. Make sure your package is completely closed so that nothing can get out.
Place your patty evenly on the parchment-lined baking tray. Repeat all this for each patty until you have the desired amount (or you run out of ingredients). Using a brush, brush some olive oil over the tops of your patties and then bake them on the oven for about 15 minutes, or until they start to brown well.
You can serve the pithiviers straight from the oven, but beware, they are very warm inside!
Have you tried this recipe? I would love to hear from you if you have any photos or comments. I share the best photos of readers on Instagram, if you allow that.
