Pesto Christmas Tree
Ingredients
½ cup pine nuts
2 cups broccoli florets
2 heaping cups fresh basil
4 cloves garlic
½ cup grated parmesan cheese
½ cup olive oil
Crushed red pepper flakes, to taste
Salt, to taste
Puff pastry, 2 sheets
1 egg, beaten
Steps
Toast ½ cup of pine nuts on a small tray at 375 degrees Fahrenheit for 5 minutes or until golden brown
Blanch 2 cups of small cup up broccoli florets in a large pot of boiling water for 2 minutes
Drain the broccoli and immediately shock it to prevent it from cooking further
Add 2 heaping cups of fresh basil to a food processor and all the cooled and drained broccoli
Put the lid on the bowl and grind the greens together
Open the bowl and give the crushed basil and broccoli a stir to ensure everything gets pureed and combined
Add in the toasted pine nuts, 4 whole cloves of garlic, and ½ cup finely grated parmesan cheese
Blend again to puree and incorporate
While the food processor is running, drizzle in a ½ cup of olive oil
Remove the lid to stir the pesto - it should be creamy and smooth
Season the pesto with some crushed red pepper flakes and salt to taste and blend once more to combine
Roll out 2 sheets of defrosted puff pastry dough on a piece of parchment paper until they are thin and almost translucent and both even in size
Place one sheet on top of the other and cut out a large Christmas tree shape being sure to also cut away the bottom and sides for the base of the tree
Before removing the excess scraps, use a star shaped cookie cutter to cut out a star for the top of your tree
Carefully take the top puff pastry layer off the bottom layer
Spread about 1 cups worth of the fresh broccoli basil pesto on top of the puff pastry Christmas tree in a thin and even layer
Carefully place the second cut out tree on top of the pesto and affix a star at the top of the tree
Cut even branches on both sides of the pesto Christmas tree being mindful to not cut all the way across the tree. The branches should be about 3 quarters of an inch thick
Twist the puff pastry branches one to two times pushing down on the end so the branch stays put until you have finished twisting all the cut branches
Brush the entire top surface of the puff pastry Christmas tree with a layer of the beaten egg
Bake the pesto Christmas tree in the oven at 375 degrees Fahrenheit for 15 minutes and remove from the oven when golden brown
