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.