Puff pastry pizza with bell peppers, mushrooms, and Mozzarella cheese

I decided to participate in Weekend Cook and Tell Event at SeriousEats.com and my photo was featured in their Round Up again, 2nd week in a row!!! For this weekend, the event was about making anything with puff pastry. I love puff pastry, and for some time have been on a serious puff pastry kick, which is why I have lots of it in my freezer. So I thought, how easy and convenient, I already have it in my freezer, I also have bell peppers and mushrooms that are about to rot, and there is a big brick of Mozzarella cheese in my refrigerator. Why not put all four ingredients to practical use and create an easy appetizer – small pizzas?

I was very happy I did – little pizzas were delicious, and it took me only 25 minutes to prepare them (plus 20 minutes for baking). Not surprisingly, these little pizzettes are already gone. One of them made a great appetizer, and I’ve eaten another one the next morning for breakfast with an egg on top.

Once I started making these little pizzettes, I sort of got carried away and also made a sweet dessert using puff pastry. I just love baking with Puff Pastry because it is so versatile. You can make something sweet, or you can make something savory. Something open like these little pizzas, or something closed like these butternut squash turnovers. And it all takes a very short time.

puff pastry pizza with mushrooms, bell peppers, cheese

Puff pastry pizza with bell peppers, mushrooms, Mozzarella and Parmesan cheese

Prep time: 25 min
Cook time: 20 min

Ingredients (for 1 sheet of puff pastry):

1 tablespoon olive oil
5 or 6 mushrooms
1/4 teaspoon paprika
1/4 teaspoon parsley
pepper
salt
handful of small bell peppers
1/4 cup grated Mozzarella cheese
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 puff pastry sheet
1 egg for egg wash

This recipe is for 1 sheet of puff pastry (usually there are 2 sheets in a package), and you can easily double it (or triple it!) if you’re making more.

1) Preheat oven to 415. Defrost 1 sheet of puff pastry for about 40 minutes until just soft. Don’t let puff pastry sheet get too warm and put it in the refrigerator if you’re not using it right away after 40 minutes of defrosting.

2) Slice each mushroom into 5 slices. Cook mushrooms for about 5 minutes on high heat, then 5 minutes on low, uncovered, until mushrooms soften and juices evaporate. Season with paprika, parsley. Salt and pepper to taste.

3) Slice each small bell pepper into halves or quarters.

4) Line your baking sheet with parchment paper. You don’t have to grease parchment paper. Cut puff pastry sheet into 2 parts like shown on the photo and place them on parchment paper on your baking sheet.

Brush pastry sheets with egg wash, salt slightly.

5) Spread cooked mushrooms in a straight line on top of each pastry sheet, without filling the whole space of puff pastry, so that you still have edges unfilled for puff.