Chicken Asparagus Pastry Bundles

Puff pastry filled with chicken, asparagus, sundried tomatoes, and cheese.

It’s asparagus season! I love asparagus and strangely enough, I loved it as a kid. I say strangely because the only way we ate it waaaaay back then in Hawaii was from a can. Those long mushy spears were great with some thousand island dressing drizzled on top. Today, I can’t even imagine eating them out of a can, especially right now when you can get beautiful bundles in the market.

I get my asparagus from my organic garden, which I’ve talked about before. They’re so fresh and sweet, you can munch on them as they get harvested. My asparagus bed is quite prolific, so I’m always trying to come up with new ways to serve them. You know, you can only give the neighbors so much until they stop answering the door when they see you coming.

My Chicken Asparagus Pastry Bundles are actually a mini version of large dinner size bundles I make using long spears of asparagus. But, whenever I have a recipe that my family enjoys, I always ask myself…can I turn this into a Big Bang Bite? 

Makes 24

• 1 pkg. Pepperidge Farm Puff Pastry Sheets, thawed
• 1 large chicken breast, baked and cubed, about 2 cups
• 2 T mayo
• 2 tsp. pesto
• 1 cup asparagus cut into ½ inch pieces
• 2 cups grated Monterey jack cheese
• ½ cup diced sundried tomatoes
• regular muffin tin

Salt and pepper the chicken breast. Bake at 350 degrees for about 20 to 30 minutes, or until cooked through. Cool and set aside.

While the chicken is cooling, bring a small pot of water to boiling. Add the diced asparagus and only cook it for about a minute. Drain and rinse under cold water to stop the cooking. Drain and set aside.

Cut the chicken into small cubes. You should have roughly 2 cups.

Toss the chicken with the mayo and pesto. Taste for salt.

The puff pastry is folded into thirds, so open flat and cut into 3 strips. Use a rolling pin and roll the strips, so you can cut them into 4 equal squares. If it gets sticky, dust with flour. You’ll get 12 pieces per sheet.

Lightly spray the muffin tin with oil. Place a square of puff pasty in the tin. Add the chicken, sundried tomatoes and asparagus. Top with grated cheese. Bake at 400 degrees for about 15 minutes, or until the pastry is golden.