The funnest thing about doing a food blog is putting all the new spins on the old dishes. Wait, did I just write “funnest?” Well, a word like that fits the situation, given that I am feeling playful about twisting up a classic. If I’m taking all kinds of liberties with the flavors so beloved for Kentucky Derby, I may as well do it with my words, too.
My celebration of the Kentucky Derby—which is Saturday, by the way, in case time has gotten away from you—is purely vicarious. I’ve never been to the Derby and honestly don’t know how I feel about the way they pressure the horses to perform for profit, but I know that I like the pomp and circumstance, the food traditions, the fancy hats and especially the bourbon! The Kentucky Hot Brown is the most classic dish associated with the Kentucky Derby, and I have twisted it up in several ways already, including a Kentucky Hot Brown Benedict, a Kentucky Hot Brown Pizza and a super simple Kentucky Hot Brown Dip. When Derby time rolled around this year, I wanted to make a fun, crowd-ready food that’s easy to pick up and enjoy in just a few bites because, honestly, who wants to sit down in the middle of a party with a knife and fork and eat a messy, traditional Kentucky Hot Brown open-faced sandwich, with all its oozing Mornay sauce? Yeah, these are much easier!
If you’re entertaining friends for the afternoon leading up to the “most exciting two minutes in sports,” may I suggest these adorable little puff pastry swirls? They have all the flavors of the beloved Kentucky Hot Brown, including roast turkey, bacon, tomatoes and gruyere, plus a touch of sauteed shallot and (in a nod to the catering kitchen where I worked so long ago) “A Pinch of Thyme.”
I expected a few obstacles along the way to these tasty rollups, mostly because puff pastry can be fussy to work with. It bakes up best if it goes into the oven cold, so the first thing I planned was to work quickly. Get all your filling ingredients ready first, and refrigerate the ones that are cooked, such as the bacon and shallots. Cook the bacon long enough to render as much fat as possible, so the lingering fat doesn’t make the pastry soggy, but not so much that hard edges will tear the pastry. Shred the cheese and keep that in the fridge until assembly time, too. Fresh roast turkey is probably better than deli turkey (mainly for keeping the sodium in check), and I confess that I used leftover turkey that we had stashed in the freezer after Thanksgiving. As for the tomato, I knew that my sweet and savory tomato jam would not spread neatly onto the puff pastry without tearing it, and I didn’t want to heat it (see the first point about baking puff pastry cold), so here’s how I overcame that challenge—I added a few tablespoons of tomato jam to the bowl with chopped turkey and stirred it together. Problem solved!
You can put these two-bite treats together in the morning or afternoon, even the night before, all the way up to slicing them into swirls, and then refrigerate them until about a half hour before your guests arrive. A quick egg wash and some extra sprinkles of gruyere just before they hit the oven, and, well—riders up!
This recipe makes 12 swirls, just about right as appetizers for 6 people.
Ingredients
3 slices smoked bacon, cut into pieces no larger than a postage stamp
1 smallish shallot, peeled, halved and cut into half-moons
1 cup chopped, cooked leftover roast turkey breast
3 Tbsp. tomato jam (store-bought or homemade, if you have it!)
1 heaping cup shredded gruyere cheese (or Swiss), divided
A few sprigs fresh thyme, leaves stripped
1 sheet store-bought puff pastry, thawed according to package instructions
1 egg, whisked with a teaspoon of water, for egg wash just before baking
Instructions
Cut the bacon into pieces no larger than a postage stamp, and cook them in a skillet until lightly crispy. 
Drain off the excess bacon grease, then saute the shallots until they are softened and lightly golden. 
Transfer the bacon and shallots to a plate or dish and refrigerate to cool them down. 
Turkey breast is best for this recipe. Chop it into chunks no larger than sugar cubes. 
Toss the turkey cubes with a few tablespoons of the tomato jam. If you have a sweet tooth, you won’t regret spooning in a little extra! 
Shred the gruyere (or Swiss) cheese and keep it in the fridge until you’re ready to assemble the swirls. 
Roll out the puff pastry on a lightly floured sheet of parchment paper. Do your best to keep it in the shape of a rectangle. 
After rolling, my puff pastry was about 12 x 15″. 
Layer on 3/4 of the total shredded cheese (you’ll want the rest for topping the swirls) and then layer the turkey pieces. 
Follow up with the bacon pieces and sauteed shallots. Keep the far long end clean about 1 1/2″, so you can easily seal it up after rolling. 
Scatter the fresh thyme leaves over the whole thing. It’s amazing the difference this makes! 
Begin rolling from the near long end, and try to keep the roll tight without stretching or tearing the pastry. You want to roll toward the “clean” end. 
As you go, you’ll find large lumps because of the turkey cubes. Don’t be afraid to softly crimp the pastry around them. 
When you reach the clean edge, lightly brush the inside with a slightly wet pastry brush. This will help seal the pastry together. 
After sealing the wet edge to the rolled up spirals, transfer it (parchment and all) to a cookie sheet. Slide it into the freezer for 15 minutes to firm it up for easier slicing. 
The dough is very manageable after time in the freezer. Use a sharp paring knife to trim off the ragged edges that don’t have any filling. 
Cut the roll into 12 slices. Start by cutting the roll in half, then each half in half, then in threes. The slices will be about 1 1/4″ thick. 
Brush the sides of the swirls with egg wash, for a lovely golden finish during baking. 
Brush the tops, too, so the exposed puff pastry gets the same color. 
Arrange the remaining shredded cheese on top of the swirls. Let it hang over the edges so it melts down the sides. 🙂 
Bake the swirls for about 25 minutes at 375° F. Rotate the pan halfway through if your oven has cool spots. 
You can see how the gruyere melted into golden yumminess down the sides of the swirls! Yum… 
These turned out fantastic! My favorite bite was the one with a touch of the sweet-savory tomato jam.
Ready to make them?
Comfort du Jour 
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