Pesto and Cheese Scrolls

5 stars

About the recipe

School is back this week here in Australia and that means welcome back lunchboxes!
My eldest son is going into grade 3, and he will not sit still to eat his lunch, which means 1 handed foods are a friend (kind of like when you're early days breastfeeding!).

These scrolls are so delicious, i love that they can be pre-made and frozen for easy and quick lunches. I have included a pesto recipe too, but you can always buy a store bought one if you don't want to make it. This one is great though as it contains broccoli and sunflower seeds so its nut free!

Ingredients

375 grams Careme spelt puff pastry (Or puff pastry of choice)
1.25 cups cheddar cheese (grated)
3/4 cups broccoli pesto (recipe below, or use store bought)
1/2 cup cherry tomatoes (quartered)
1 egg (for wash, can be omitted)

Broccoli and Sunflower Seed Pesto

100 grams broccoli
3/4 cup sunflower seeds
3 cups basil leaves (tightly packed)
1/2 cup parmesan cheese
1 clove garlic
3 TBSP lemon juice
1/4 cup olive oil
1/2 tsp salt

Method

Preheat the oven to 200 degrees and line a baking tray with baking paper
Remove the pastry from the freezer 10 minutes before filling. If using the pastry from the fridge, use immediately or the pastry will get too difficult to handle/fold and cut
Roll the pastry sheet out flat over the plastic sheet of the pastry packaging to ensure it does not stick to the bench. Alternatively place down a sheet of baking paper or flour your benchtop well. Cover the pastry with the pesto - leaving 1cm gap lengthways on the left hand side. Sprinkle the cheese evenly over the top and top with the quartered cherry tomatoes
Tightly roll up the pastry sheet into a log and slice the pastries to make them roughly 1.5 in width
Separate each pastry and place them down flat on the baking tray
Whisk the egg and using a pastry brush, brush the pastry with the egg wash
Place the pastries into the hot oven to bake for 10 minutes on 200 degrees. Then decrease the heat to 180 degrees and bake for roughly another 25 minutes until the pastry is golden

Pesto Method

Rinse and chop the broccoli florets and place them into a pot of boiling water. Blanch until bright green and slightly softened then add to a bowl of icey water to cool (this helps keep the bright green colour)
To a food processor or blender add the sunflower seeds, basil, grated parmesan, chopped garlic clove, lemon juice, olive oil, salt and the cooled broccoli. Pulse until you have reached your desired consistency
To store, add to a jar or container and pour a layer of olive oil over the top to prevent brownin

Able to be frozen: yes, but freeze once rolled but before baking - spread out on a baking tray.

Fridge friendly for 3 days

lunchbox