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Party Wreath
![Party Wreath](https://static01.nyt.com/images/2021/10/31/magazine/31mag-eat-site/31mag-eat-site-articleLarge.jpg?width=1280&quality=75&auto=webp)
- Total Time
- About 1½ hours
- Rating
- Notes
- Read community notes
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Ingredients
- 1medium Yukon Gold potato, peeled and halved
- 1(1-inch) piece fresh ginger, peeled
- 2serrano chiles, stemmed
- 2cups green peas (fresh or thawed frozen)
- 1tablespoon neutral oil
- 2tablespoons sesame seeds
- 1tablespoon fennel seeds
- 1teaspoon cumin seeds
- ¼cup fresh mint leaves, roughly chopped
- 1teaspoon garam masala
- Kosher salt
- Lemon juice
- All-purpose flour, for dusting
- 1(14-ounce) sheet puff pastry (fresh or thawed frozen)
- 1tablespoon milk
- Green chutney, tamarind chutney or Maggi ketchup, for serving
Preparation
- Step 1
Heat oven to 375 degrees. Boil the potato halves until tender, about 15 minutes. Drain and set aside.
- Step 2
In a food processor, grind the ginger and serrano chiles until very fine, then add the peas and grind just a little, to get a coarse mash. Tip the pea mixture into a large bowl.
- Step 3
In a small pan over medium, heat the oil and add 1 tablespoon sesame seeds, the fennel and cumin, and toast until light golden, about 1 minute. Pour into the bowl with the peas. Add the mint, garam masala and potato, and mix well, breaking up the potato. Season to taste with salt and lemon juice.
- Step 4
Working on a lightly floured sheet of parchment paper, cut the puff pastry lengthwise into two equal rectangles, and roll gently with a floured pin to flatten creases. Use your hands to squash half the pea mixture into an even snake of filling down one pastry rectangle, from one end to the other, then roll the pastry lengthwise around it to seal it into a tube, cutting off any overlapping dough and pinching the seam tightly to close. Repeat with the other pastry, then transfer the parchment to a sheet pan.
- Step 5
Join the two tubes in a circle, seam sides down. Use a knife to make cuts at an angle every ¾ inch or so, going all the way through the filling but leaving a bit of pastry still connected in the innermost circle. Pinch and turn each segment to slightly point the filling upward, opening the pieces like petals. Brush the dough tops lightly with milk and sprinkle with the remaining 1 tablespoon sesame seeds.
- Step 6
Bake for 45 minutes, or until the pastry is completely cooked through and golden brown. Serve warm or at room temperature, with green chutney, tamarind chutney or Maggi ketchup.
Private Notes
Cooking Notes
I found these two videos that look helpful. They don't use store-bought puff pastry but the shaping and cutting technique is the same. Both use scissors which sounds like a good idea. Last year we had an Indian Thanksgiving and it was so good we are doing it again, and including this recipe. I'm going to cook some extra potato just in case... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p6MxBLFvxqA https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m1ZmRiDDmhQ
Made this tonight and it was delicious. I ended up boiling and mashing 3 more potatoes in salted water to balance out the flavor and spice, then added (gasp!) some powdered mashed potato that I keep around for Knish baking. I ended up with double the amount of filling so prepped 2 rings: one went into the oven and the other into the freezer.
A quick Google search indicates that Pepperidge Farm's puff pastry is vegan (you can always double-check the package though). It's also definitely something you can make at home if you're inclined to try. Puff pastry is made from flour, water, and any fat that's solid at room temperature. Butter is the most common fat that's used, but vegetable shortening or a vegan-friendly butter substitute should work just as well.
TJ puff pastry has butter, and is far better quality than Pepperidge Farm.
Is there a YouTube demonstrating rolling and cutting the dough?
This came out really well. I would add a little sugar to the filling to balance the flavours a little more.
It always frustrates me to see so many reviews from folks who haven't actually tried the recipe. I made it today exactly as specified with the only exception being an extra potato. Beautiful, easy, and delicious! We had some mango chutney on hand and mixed in some tamarind paste and it made a nice accompaniment. Definitely a crowd-pleaser!
I made this yesterday, immediately after seeing the recipe in the magazine, to nourish the grown-ups before trick-or-treating. It was so much easier than it looks, and delicious! My only adjustment was one serrano instead of two, and it was still spicy, more warming than hot. I was daunted by the twisting like flower petals part, but did it as described and it came out picture perfect which surprised me most of all! Great recipe, will make again.
most likely it's 1lb of potatoes.
I made it for a Hallows Eve dinner party but instead of a wreath, I molded it into a severed arm and hand (I colored the chutney red and splattered it about like blood). It was easy to do as the filling is quite stiff and malleable. I prepared it midday and cooked it a few hours later and it was fine. The filling is dry enough that the puff pastry did not get too wet. Wish I could post a pic : )
I too would like to see a video of how the dough is rolled, cut, pinched and joined. The directions leave me a bit baffled. Thanks
I am wondering about the fennel and cumin seeds. Should they be ground or left whole? In regards to a pea substitute, I thought I might try lentils. Sharon
I have to agree with Chris that this is a lot of complaining for a new recipe that sounds fantastic from a wonderful writer! I would love to see a video - or maybe more HELPFUL comments about the rolling out as I am confused. But just might have to try it and see if I can make it work. This looks great and I can taste it already. Thank you Tejal, and thanks for the charming story that came with it in the magazine.
Pepperidge Farm puff pastry is vegan; trader joe's is too I think.
About that potato:peas ratio -- IMO those questioning ONE potato:2 cups peas have a point. A quick online search found a ratio of 4 potatoes:1/2 cup peas. Maybe Tejal Rao prefers peas over potatoes?
I made this yesterday exactly as written plus 1 potato. Delicious. Do not I undercook the potatoes; mine were a little too hard and the texture of the stuffing would benefit from a fluffier softer texture. It was easier than expected but not as pretty. Chilling the stuffed pastry ring after cutting but before trying to rearrange the layers might help with the extra handling that softens the dough and makes it harder to work with.
Would someone be able to comment as to how much of this could be done in advance, as well as how far in advance? Thanks!
I absolutely love this recipe! Made it once as written. Second time I added 1/2 cup of cooked and drained red lentils to add protein. I’m finding the baking time is much longer than stated.
Followed the recipe as written and found it to be a bit dry and not as flavorful as I'd hoped. The filling tasted balanced before cooking but mellowed out too much for my taste in the fished dish. If I made it again I would likely do 1.5x the spices and salt, and perhaps add some more oil and some of the potato cooking liquid to the filling. Might also adjust potato/pea ratio as others have suggested to include sightly more potato than recipe as written.
Delicious! I tripled the potatoes and it turned out great. I made the puffy pastry from a King Arthur recipe.
This is absolutely delicious, but with coriander instead of mint. Cilantro for the yanks. Works well with any type of pastry or dough too. Have used pizza dough and British meat pie style butter crust and both are fine, just need to adjust cooking times. Actually prefer the butter crust.
Do the whole thing in the oven add seeds near the end
A bit fiddly but really tasty!
I've made this several times and love it every time, especially with a spicy green chutney, and then you can control the spice for others who may not prefer it.
Absolutely delicious, hit at Christmas Brunch! Some tips and notes: - Previous posts included video links for rolling which this inexperienced wreath-maker found helpful - As with others, I increased my potato quantity. I used 4 small Yukon golds and had plenty of filling - I briefly sautéed together the Serrano and ginger and added a small diced shallot before puréeing the mixture in my food pro - Some asked about using whole spices vs grinding them. I kept mine whole and they were lovely.
Took this to a Swedish Julbord party. Halved ingredients except potato and it fit nicely in the Pepperidge Farm smaller sized sheets. I wished I had kept the original spice measurements but I was worried about northern Wisconsin palates. It was fantastic looking and had a pleasant warm spice. I served it with a yogurt mint sauce and a mango chutney. It was a huge hit .
Make sure the potato filling is cool before putting it on the pastry. My filling was too warm and the pastry became gluey while trying to form the tube. Still tasted delicious but the presentation wasn't pretty.
I made this before going the the Newmans where I volunteered to make an appetizer. Beautiful presentation. Should look up the chutneys next time to accompany it.
This was a huge hit at a party I attended recently. It is spicy (and I love heat!) so I also recommend cutting the spice in half. I also doubled the potato and cut the pea measurements in half and it was delicious. I also cut the potatoes into small rice before boiling and slightly mashed into the filling which had a more uniform texture. The wreath was still warm 1 hour after baking and kept for my whole drive to the party! Highly recommend!
This is one of those dishes that makes mediocre cooks (like me!) look fab! Brought it to a potluck and it was a big hit! My wreath wasn’t as even and pretty as the photo but still looked pretty cool. Another great vegan recipe! I used oat milk in last step and Pepperidge Farm puff pastry is vegan. After reading others’ notes I used 2 potatoes & that seemed right.
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