I LOVE entertaining & cooking beautiful food! I got crostada-crazy this Christmas & made this many times. It's a gorgeous WOW & can be made ahead of time & served room temp. And since it's not saucy, the puff pastry holds itself together instead of turning to mush. I adapted a Sara Moulton recipe that I saw on TV in December & it became my go-to! DISCLAIMER: I call this a crostada, but it seems like maybe it should be called a "rustica." Well, mine is called a Crostada & I'm sticking with it!

INGREDIENTS: 1 Puff Pastry sheet (pepperidge farm from the freezer section) Parmesan (shaved with a potato peeler) Fontina cheese Roasted Red Peppers (in a jar, then sliced) Prosciutto (3 oz sliced) Basil (a few leaves, rolled & sliced into chiffonades) Egg wash

INSTRUCTIONS: Let puff pastry sit out & come to room temp. About 30 min. Roll it into a large circle on a lightly floured surface.

Here, it's rolled & I've added the parmesan cheese shavings. From here on out - you decide how much of what you want.

Next, top it with the grated fontina cheese

.....and prosciutto...leave a lot of room on the edge...

Then the roasted red peppers... Top with finely grated parmesan cheese.

Fold the edges all the way around & WHOOPS. You'll see I was so focussed on gorgeous pics that I forgot to make the whole thing on parchment paper. Yikes. This was awkward & dangerous but I got it transferred.

Beat an egg white with a splash of water & brush the edges. This will make it a beautiful golden brown.

Bake at 425º for 20 minutes.

Top with your basil chiffonades for color & fresh flavor on top. HELLO!

This is so flaky, salty, fresh, with a tasty firm cheese base. AMAZING! Save this for your next party!

XO - - Jessica 

Variations: 

• Gorgonzola, apple, carmelized red onion, arugula, date syrup..
• Mushroom, leek, mascarpone-dijon, thyme