Quick Spinach and Ricotta Pastries in Air Fryer

Name: Quick Spinach and Ricotta Pastries in Air Fryer
Total time: 30 min
Yield: 2
Ingredients: 200 g (7 oz) spinach; 250 g (9 oz) ricotta; 1 puff pastry sheet; 1 egg; to taste salt; to taste black pepper; a pinch nutmeg

Flaky pastries filled with spinach and ricotta, cooked quickly in the air fryer. A delicious and healthy snack.

Time: 30 min2 servingsDifficulty: Medium190°CVegetables

Steps

1
Preheat the air fryer to 190°C (375°F).
2
In a bowl, mix spinach with ricotta, salt, pepper, and a pinch of nutmeg.
3
Roll out the puff pastry sheet and cut it into 4 equal squares.
4
Place a spoonful of the spinach and ricotta mixture in the center of each square.
5
Fold the pastry over the filling to form a triangle or half-moon, and press the edges to seal.
6
Beat the egg and brush it over the pastries for a golden finish.
7
Cook the pastries in the air fryer for 12-15 minutes, until puffed and golden.

Shopping list

200g spinach, 250g ricotta cheese, 1 sheet puff pastry, 1 egg, salt, black pepper, a pinch of nutmeg

Recipe story

This recipe combines Italian and French influences, adapted for modern cooking. Ricotta, a classic Italian ingredient, meets puff pastry, typical of French cuisine, in a quick air fryer version. Its origins are linked to Mediterranean cuisine, where spinach and cheeses are often paired.

Ingredient Secrets

Black pepper

Known as 'black gold' in antiquity, pepper was so valuable that it served as currency and tribute. In the Middle Ages, Venetian merchants controlled the pepper trade, and individual peppercorns were often counted. Legend has it that when Alaric, king of the Visigoths, demanded tribute from Rome, he included 3,000 pounds of pepper.

Sea salt

Sea salt, extracted from ocean waters by evaporation, was one of the most precious goods of antiquity, used both as food and as currency. In ancient Rome, soldiers were paid with salt, which is the origin of the word 'salary'. Salt roads connected entire civilizations, and in the Middle Ages, salt was so valuable it was called 'white gold'.

Nutmeg

In the Middle Ages, nutmeg was so precious that a kilogram cost as much as a cow or even a house. Merchants guarded it like gold, and legend says that to keep its origin secret, traders would adulterate it with walnut seeds.

Spinach

Originating in ancient Persia, spinach conquered Europe through the Moors, who brought it to Spain in the 11th century. In the Middle Ages, it was considered a miraculous remedy for various ailments.