Saturday, June 6, 2020

Copycat Recipes - Olive Garden's Cheese-Filled Soffatelli


First, let me state that I do not have a fear of dining in restaurants. 
My family has (finally) grown accustomed to my desire to create everything and anything related to food in our kitchen. While others watch an advertisement for a local restaurant and say "Mmmm, that sounds good. Let's go there to eat", I always say "Mmmm, that sounds good. I'll bet I can make that."

Such is the case with a 2011 television commercial for Olive Garden's cheese-filled soffatelli. I have no problem with the folks who operate Olive Garden. I've eaten there many times and have enjoyed every meal. But..... I also enjoy cooking, enjoy finding ways of making new things, and enjoy Italian food. So, why not try to replicate a recipe from a place I hold dear in my heart?

Well, I never tasted the soffatelli at Olive Garden. And it is no longer on the menu. So, I'm exercising a tremendous amount of ego to offer this recipe, and, if you use it, you are taking a giant leap of faith in my culinary skills. Let's jump off that cliff together, OK?
Olive Garden's Cheese-Filled Soffatelli

Ingredients

  • 1 17.3 oz package puff pastry sheet, thawed
  • 1 package Stouffer's Spinach Souffle (see note below)
  • cooking spray
  • One 8-oz packageSargento Fancy Shredded 6 Cheese Italian Cheese
  • 2 whole fresh lemons
  • 1 bunch of fresh flat-leaf parsley
  • 2 teaspoons minced garlic
  • 2 tablespoons butter, softened
  • 4 tablespoons olive oil
  • salt and pepper, to taste

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
  2. Puff pastry sheets are typically found in the frozen food section at your grocers. Unwrap and let sit at room temperature for 30 minutes to thaw. There are two sheets in each package. Unfold them, and cut each into 4 pieces, to make 8 squares total.
  3. Remove the spinach souffle from its package. Lift one corner of the plastic wrap to vent; cook on full power in the microwave for 5 minutes. Remove, stir and return to the microwave. Cook for another 2 minutes. The mixture will be almost firm but not fully cooked. Allow it to sit for 5 minutes to cool slightly.
  4. Divide the spinach souffle mixture into 8 equal pieces. Place one piece on each puff pastry square. Top each spinach souffle mound with 1 tablespoon of Italian cheese.
  5. Bring the corners of each puff pastry up to the center—pinch together and seal the sides to form square "envelopes".
  6. Lightly coat a large cookie sheet with cooking spray. Place spinach/cheese-filled puff pastry envelopes on a cookie sheet and bake at 400 degrees F. for about 20 minutes, or until well-browned and puffed.
  7. While the puffs are baking, prepare the sauce.
  8. Using a zester, remove the yellow portion only of the lemon rind (don't cut into the white pith--it's bitter) and set aside. Mince the parsley until you have about 3/4 cup.
  9. Heat the butter and olive oil over low heat. Add the minced garlic and lemon rind; cook until the garlic and lemon are fragrant and then remove from heat. Stir in the minced parsley. Add salt and pepper to taste.
  10. Divide the sauce among 8 serving plates and place one baked soffatelli on top of each.

NOTE: What if you don't have/can't find Stouffer's spinach souffle? You can make your own. Here's the recipe:

Substitution for Stouffers Spinach Souffle

  • 9 cups fresh spinach, lightly packed
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 tsp. grated lemon peel

Wash spinach leaves. Place in a large (5-6 quart) pan. Cover and cook, stirring several times, until leaves are wilted. Pour leaves into a colander set in a bowl; let drain. When cool to the touch, squeeze excess liquid from the spinach with your hands. Reserve liquid.

In a food processor or blender, puree spinach with 3 tablespoons of the reserved liquid, eggs, flour, garlic, and lemon peel. Add salt to taste.

3 comments:

  1. Linda, what do you think about using crushed garlic from a jar? Mike

    ReplyDelete
  2. It's old, it's been soaking in water (like forever), and it might be "preserved" with phosphoric acid. Garlic is so easy to prepare--I suggest that you stick with fresh.

    ReplyDelete
  3. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

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