Old-Fashioned Pastry Turn-Over.
Old-Fashioned Turn-Overs for Beginners.
OK, this is an easy recipe, and one that I’m sure you have all seen before, but I thought I would post it for anyone that hasn’t done much with pre-made puff pastry. Long-time bakers and cooks might not be too impressed with this recipe, but it's great for beginners, or people that might be less familiar with pasties and turn-overs.
Ingredients are pretty open for this one. Obviously, you need puff pastry. I recommend Pepperidge Farm frozen puff pastry, as it thaws well, and it does not dry out very quickly. As far as filling goes, I have had success with a number of different combinations. A good sweet filling for breakfast or desert can be made with cream cheese (or mascarpone cheese) and cherry pie filling, or even fresh cut apples with apricot jam. My mother has made a few decent turn-overs with a savory cream cheese and salmon, but I’ve never been a fan of salmon in the first place.
Any rate, for this pastry, I wanted a good savory lunch, and I had plenty of leftovers, so I went with a ham and swiss turn-over.
Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees.
Ingredients:
1 sheet of frozen puff pastry, thawed in a refrigerator overnight
1 to 1 ½ tblspn of good Dijon mustard
Approx. ½ pound of thick or spiral-cut ham
2 to 3 slices of deli-cut swiss cheese, or approx. 1 cup of shredded swiss cheese
1 egg (or 1 tblspn butter, more on that later)
1 tblspn water
The first thing you need to do with your thawed pastry is carefully unfold it. The pastry should be as cold as possible, to prevent stretching and tearing, so work quickly, right out of the refrigerator. Once open, the pastry will have two seams running through it where it was folded. This step is optional, but I picked it up from Alton Brown on Good Eats, and it has served me well. Pinch both sides of the seams together, and flatten them out, just to strengthen the seams.
In the case of this recipe, I will be starting with the Dijon mustard, but basically the first layer you put down should be the most spread-like ingredient you are using. Other than the obvious reason of it being difficult to spread mustard on ham, putting a spread directly onto the pastry prevents the water in the ham from making the bottom crust soggy. My camera was charging while I was baking this, so I did not get a photo of the next step; please enjoy the diagram instead.
When placing your ingredients on the pastry sheet, you want to work within a smaller area on the lower half of the pastry. It is important not to over-fill the pastry, or you will have trouble closing it later. Once the mustard is spread evenly, stack the ham on top, followed by the cheese.
Once the fillings are all on the pastry, you simply fold the top half over the bottom half, aligning the edges on the bottom and sides. Press out as much air as possible, working from the center out. Don’t be too rough though, or you will ruin the pastry. Now, roll the edges of pastry over themselves, one pinch at a time, to create a scalloped edge. You can also simply fold over the edges and seal them with a fork, if you are not comfortable scalloping them. Make a few slashes (or a decorative design) in the top crust, and move the pastry to your baking sheet. I highly recommend the use of a Silpat here, as it helps brown the bottom crust without burning it. Also, you won’t need any non-stick spray or grease, which could make the bottom soggy.
Beat the egg and water in a small dish to make an egg wash, and brush it liberally over the top and sides of the pastry. With savory pastries, I have found that substituting 1 tblspn of melted butter for the egg wash helps bring the savory flavor into the crust.
Bake the pastry on the center rack of the oven for 15-22 minutes. It seems as if this takes a different time every time I bake it, but you can generally assume that 15 minutes is the minimum. Once the crust is brown and puffy, it is ready to come out. You will want to move the pastry immediately to a separate plate or cooling rack to cool for a few minutes, because there will most likely be a significant amount of liquid on the pan if you used a meat filling.
Slice the pastry and serve. This can easily feed two or three people if paired with a leafy salad. I would recommend a fresh arugula salad with a light vinaigrette.
OK, this is an easy recipe, and one that I’m sure you have all seen before, but I thought I would post it for anyone that hasn’t done much with pre-made puff pastry. Long-time bakers and cooks might not be too impressed with this recipe, but it's great for beginners, or people that might be less familiar with pasties and turn-overs.
Ingredients are pretty open for this one. Obviously, you need puff pastry. I recommend Pepperidge Farm frozen puff pastry, as it thaws well, and it does not dry out very quickly. As far as filling goes, I have had success with a number of different combinations. A good sweet filling for breakfast or desert can be made with cream cheese (or mascarpone cheese) and cherry pie filling, or even fresh cut apples with apricot jam. My mother has made a few decent turn-overs with a savory cream cheese and salmon, but I’ve never been a fan of salmon in the first place.
Any rate, for this pastry, I wanted a good savory lunch, and I had plenty of leftovers, so I went with a ham and swiss turn-over.
Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees.
Ingredients:
1 sheet of frozen puff pastry, thawed in a refrigerator overnight
1 to 1 ½ tblspn of good Dijon mustard
Approx. ½ pound of thick or spiral-cut ham
2 to 3 slices of deli-cut swiss cheese, or approx. 1 cup of shredded swiss cheese
1 egg (or 1 tblspn butter, more on that later)
1 tblspn water
The first thing you need to do with your thawed pastry is carefully unfold it. The pastry should be as cold as possible, to prevent stretching and tearing, so work quickly, right out of the refrigerator. Once open, the pastry will have two seams running through it where it was folded. This step is optional, but I picked it up from Alton Brown on Good Eats, and it has served me well. Pinch both sides of the seams together, and flatten them out, just to strengthen the seams.
In the case of this recipe, I will be starting with the Dijon mustard, but basically the first layer you put down should be the most spread-like ingredient you are using. Other than the obvious reason of it being difficult to spread mustard on ham, putting a spread directly onto the pastry prevents the water in the ham from making the bottom crust soggy. My camera was charging while I was baking this, so I did not get a photo of the next step; please enjoy the diagram instead.
When placing your ingredients on the pastry sheet, you want to work within a smaller area on the lower half of the pastry. It is important not to over-fill the pastry, or you will have trouble closing it later. Once the mustard is spread evenly, stack the ham on top, followed by the cheese.
Once the fillings are all on the pastry, you simply fold the top half over the bottom half, aligning the edges on the bottom and sides. Press out as much air as possible, working from the center out. Don’t be too rough though, or you will ruin the pastry. Now, roll the edges of pastry over themselves, one pinch at a time, to create a scalloped edge. You can also simply fold over the edges and seal them with a fork, if you are not comfortable scalloping them. Make a few slashes (or a decorative design) in the top crust, and move the pastry to your baking sheet. I highly recommend the use of a Silpat here, as it helps brown the bottom crust without burning it. Also, you won’t need any non-stick spray or grease, which could make the bottom soggy.
Beat the egg and water in a small dish to make an egg wash, and brush it liberally over the top and sides of the pastry. With savory pastries, I have found that substituting 1 tblspn of melted butter for the egg wash helps bring the savory flavor into the crust.
Bake the pastry on the center rack of the oven for 15-22 minutes. It seems as if this takes a different time every time I bake it, but you can generally assume that 15 minutes is the minimum. Once the crust is brown and puffy, it is ready to come out. You will want to move the pastry immediately to a separate plate or cooling rack to cool for a few minutes, because there will most likely be a significant amount of liquid on the pan if you used a meat filling.
Slice the pastry and serve. This can easily feed two or three people if paired with a leafy salad. I would recommend a fresh arugula salad with a light vinaigrette.