Puff Pastry Soup

Chunky Soup with “Puff Pastry Hat” (Cheater’s Edition)

This is how I “dress up” a can of soup to make it taste yummier and look more gourmet. With just a can of chunky soup, puff pastry and an oven, this cute looking soup bowl with a “puff pastry top hat” can be served effortlessly. As you dig into the soup, the puff pastry will sink into the soup making it delightfully soggy. It is a fun way to enjoy an otherwise boring can of soup. Because canned soup was used here, the preparation time is only about 15 minutes.

This was actually a kitchen experiment where I tried to mimic the soup with bread top that I had in my school days at Country Manna restaurant. Back then, this soup was the reason I went to Country Manna, and it was such a treat. I was so fascinated with the bread that was on top of the soup bowl back then. Recently, after I saw a recipe for chicken pot pie using puff pastry, and I realised that puff pastry is likely the “bread” on top of my soup and so I tried it out with a can of soup. I think this was a successful experiment in finding out how it was done.

Ingredients
(serves 2)
- 1 can (around 500g) of chunky soup (those type that do not need to add water, just heat up and consume)
- a small piece of frozen puff pastry*
- 1 egg, beaten
- water

Tools
- oven
- pastry brush
- oven-safe soup bowls or ramekins
- a work surface dusted with flour
- a rolling pin dusted with flour

Directions (Step by Step Photos)

1. Thaw the frozen puff pastry at room temperature for about 1/2- 1 hour

2. Dust the roller and surface you are working on with some flour. Cut a portion of the puff pastry.

3. Roll out the dough as thin as you can (about 1 mm).

4. Empty the soup into oven-safe soup bowls.

5. Cut out a piece of rolled puff pastry dough to cover the soup bowl. Secure the edges with water.

6. Using a pastry brush, brush egg all over the puff pastry so that it will have a nice sheen after baking.

7. Bake in preheated oven of 180C (356F) for roughly 10-15 minutes till the puff pastry is puffy and golden brown.

* Where to buy puff pastry in Singapore. You can purchase it at the frozen section of supermarkets. I purchase mine (Sunshine brand) at NTUC Tampines Mall. Only the bigger NTUC outlets sell this. You can also get it at other supermarkets such as Cold Storage.

Ingredients Used canned soup • egg • puff pastry