Summer puff pastry pockets with sardines and vegetables

The other day, I went canoeing on the Spree with some friends. It was wonderful—we felt like real freshwater pirates…!
For our picnic on land, we had wonderfully chilled rosé (we had it in a bag towed behind us in the water) and delicious little puff pastry parcels that my friend Anne had prepared.
I was inspired to make a sardine version of the recipe, which I "recreated" at home. It is super easy and looks really beautiful. Perfect for a picnic with friends or a dinner for two (or three, or four...)—as an aperitif, finger food, starter, or main course, perhaps with a green salad! Bon appétit!

Ingredients (for 2 people)
1 pack of puff pastry (if you are not making it yourself)
some sesame seeds
1 small eggplant
1 small zucchini
3–4 mushrooms
Feta
Zucchini cream and/or tapenade (black olive paste from Provence)
1 pack of sardines in oil (e.g., Sardines Saint-Georges by La Belle-Iloise)
Olive oil
Salt
Pepper

1. Wash the vegetables and cut them into cubes, while preheating the oven to 200°C.
2. Heat oil in a pan and fry the vegetables until they are lightly browned and translucent, but still slightly al dente, and season with salt and pepper.
3. Sprinkle the sesame seeds on the countertop or a board and roll out the puff pastry on top. Press the sesame seeds firmly into the pastry. Then cut the pastry into equal squares (I get 6 pieces from one roll).
4. Spread a dollop of zucchini cream and tapenade in the center of the pastry squares (this can be omitted to taste. Since I really like both, I made 3 pieces with tapenade and the others with zucchini cream. The pieces with tapenade are more savory, while those with zucchini cream are more "vegetable-forward") and add small mounds of the vegetables, crumbled feta, and small pieces of sardine. Caution: do not put too much filling on the pastry, otherwise the pieces will rise too much in the oven!
5. Fold the corners of the pastry diagonally so that they form nice, firm parcels. Press the loose ends and sides together well. This requires a little dexterity, but it is important, otherwise the pieces will rise too much in the oven.
6. Bake on the middle rack for 15–20 minutes until golden brown and serve hot. Bon appétit!

We opened a bottle of

Alento Rosé 2016 Alentejo

to go with it, which paired wonderfully! A young, intense Portuguese rosé full of joie de vivre—an easy everyday wine that goes well with any food, but is also fun to enjoy on its own.