The Cook’s Kitchen

One snowy Valentine’s Day, I woke up and went to the kitchen to make breakfast. On the table, I found a beautiful postcard of a palm tree-lined Miami. The back of the card read, “Guess where we’re going?”

Early next morning, we were on a plane to Miami. It was my first trip to Florida and I was totally thrilled. When we arrived at the Miami airport, we stopped at one of the cafe shops and had the best food I’ve ever eaten at an airport in America. We had empanaditas filled with beef and chicken and then finished with a cafe cortado and some of these guava and cream cheese pastries, pasteles de guayaba. After scarfing down our food, we looked at each other and said, “Miami, baby.”

PASTELES DE GUAYABA - GUAVA PASTRIES

INGREDIENTS:

• puff pastry sheet, cut into approx. 2.5 inch squares
• guava paste (pasta de guayaba), cut into 1/2 inch-thick strips, approx. 1/2 inch wide and 2 inches long [I often find these at Latino markets, in round tins next to the membrillo]
• cream cheese, cut into strips, slightly bigger than the guava strips
• egg wash (one egg yolk whisked with 1 tsp. water or milk)

STEPS:

• Preheat the oven to 400F.
• Place the cream cheese and guava a little off-center on the the pastry square. You may need to push the guava down a bit, into the cheese.
• Next, fold the sides of the square over the filling and carefully seal the edges.
• Place the pastry, seam side down onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and brush the top with the egg wash. Repeat with the remainder of the pastry squares.
• Bake for approx. 18-20 minutes. The tops should be a light golden brown. Serve warm or at room temperature.