This is my favorite recipe that my mom would make growing up so of course I'm bringing it to the blog, BUT FIRST THE RECIPE! Photo recipe after the actual recipe!
This is one of my favorite childhood recipes. I don't need to give you a whole spiel about how my mom made this every Christmas and sometimes my birthday if I was lucky. This is a super simple brunch recipe that has alway been a hit in my family.
Ingredients:
2 Cans Pillsbury Crescent Rolls
1/3 Pound Thick-Cut Deli Ham
1 Large Head Broccoli
1/2 Large Onion
6 Oz Shredded Swiss Cheese
2.5 Tablespoons Dijon Mustard
1 Tablespoon Lemon Juice
1 Tablespoon Olive Oil
Prepping:
You can prepare your mixture the night before if you want to save time in the morning. That's how my family has done it as we all want to sleep in on Christmas.
Preheat your oven to 375°F.
Cut the onion in half and dice half the onion into 1/4" pieces. Cut your broccoli into small pieces. The smaller the better here as the mixture will cook more evenly. Make sure you cut some of the stems as well, but keep them SMALL. This will add a nice fresh crunch to the ring as well. Dice your ham into 1/2 inch to 1 inch pieces. Make sure you ask the deli to cut it thick, And Lastly shred about 1/2 a 12 oz block of Swiss cheese. Ham and Swiss is one of my favorite flavor profiles and these flavors really mix well together.
After 25+ years of making this in my family we have discovered that it helps to pre cook the broccoli and onions a little bit. So with a drizzle of olive oil add your onions to a frying pan on medium heat and sweat them just until the begin to soften. Don't cook them too long or your brunch ring will get soggy. Then add the broccoli to the onions and cook covered for 3 minutes to begin to cook the broccoli.
This does not need to cook all the way as it will cook in the oven as well. We just want to get the process started to avoid under and overcooked veggies. Remove from the heat and let cool to avoid melting the cheese in the next steps.
Transfer the veggies to a mixing bowl and stir in the lemon juice and dijon mustard. I usually eyeball this but its about 1 tablespoon lemon juice and 2.5 - 3 tablespoons mustard. Mix it until its evenly coated and then add your ham and cheese to the mix and combine. At this point you can place this in the fridge overnight or get straight to baking.
Forming the Rings:
If you have a large enough baking sheet you can form 2 rings on one or you can form them on individual sheets to be safe.
This is the fun part! Lay out the crescent pastries in a star shape by laying the short edges in a circle. You can use a cereal bowl as a guide if you have trouble.
Now take half your filling mixture and put it in the center of the ring. Use your fingers to pull the middle of the mixture to the edges to form a donut shape.
Then take the pints of the star and fold them over the mixture. Care fully tuck the points under to create your brunch ring!
Bake for 20-25 minutes until the crescent rolls have turned golden brown.
Hope you enjoy this recipe!
I know a lot of people don't like ham but you can always try this with cooked crispy bacon as well or even sliced deli turkey! For another twist you can always substitute your favorite cheeses as well.
Give it a try and let me know how you like it!
xoxo Emily
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