Linguica wrapped in puff pastry is a rich appetizer. The pastry insulates the sausage from the dry heat of the oven so it retains its fat and unique flavors. This recipe is great because you can make it in advance, freeze it and pull portion out as you need them.

Yield: About 30 1/2 inch bite-sized appetizers

Ingredients:

For the Roasted Garlic Paste
10 large cloves of peeled garlic
2 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
Kosher salt
Ground black pepper
For the linguica rolls
2-8 oz sticks of linguica sausage, casing removed
1 tsp. fresh thyme leaves
1 egg, beaten
1 piece of 9 x 9 inch frozen puff pastry.

Method:

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

Place garlic in a heatproof bowl or pan. Pour the oil over the garlic. The garlic should be 3/4 submerged in the oil.

Season lightly with salt and pepper.

Cover the garlic with foil or a tight fitting ovenproof lid.

Bake for approximately 25 minutes or until garlic is soft and golden brown on all sides.

Remove from oven and leave at room temp until cool enough to touch. Finely chop the garlic and smash it with the side of your knife to make a coarse paste.

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Stir the oil back into it. Set aside until ready to use.

Turn the oven up to 450 degrees if you are going to cook the rolls right away

Assembly:

Thaw the frozen puff pastry until it is just soft enough to unfold without breaking.

Using a rolling pin, roll it out to 10 x 10 inches.

Spread the garlic paste over the surface of the pastry.

Evenly sprinkle the thyme leaves over the garlic paste.

Cut the pastry in half so you have two 5 x 10 inch pieces.

Lay each piece of linguica on the edge of each pastry lengthwise.

Roll it in the pastry until it is completely enveloped.

Crimp the sides and edges together where they meet.

Let the pastry rest on the crimped edge so the smooth side is up.

Place them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and brush the entire surface with egg wash. Put in the freezer for 5 minutes. Freezing will make the butter cold and the pastry will keep its shape better.

Bake at 450 degrees for 8 minutes. Turn the pan around and bake for another 8 to 10 minutes or until the pastry is a deep golden brown.

Let rest for five minutes and slice into 1/2 inch portions.

There are lots of different variations for this. Try sun-dried tomato or a nut pesto instead of the garlic paste.
Add pieces of roasted bell pepper or your favorite thinly sliced raw chili in between the pastry and sausage.
Put a small dollop of mustard or hot sauce on the sliced roll and sprinkle with smoked paprika.