Despite all my proclaimed love to cooking from scratch, I have no problem with occasional semi-homemade cooking, i.e. using some commercial foods like cooked beans, frozen puff pastry or fresh pasta when I don’t have time to make them myself.
For these turnovers, I used good quality store bought puff pastry from Aussie Bakery, which saved at least a couple of hours of my time while giving very satisfying results. For the fillings, I used ground lamb, sautéed with fenugreek and mashed potatoes with curry powder and green peas.
You will need:
- About 1 package of puff pastry (two 9” x 9” sheets) for each filling
- 1 Medium or Large egg
Lamb Filling:
- 1 lb ground lamb
- 1 medium onion, finely chopped
- 1 small carrot, finely chopped
- 2 large garlic cloves, finely chopped
- ¾ tsp ground fenugreek
- A generous pinch of cumin seeds
- Salt and black pepper, to taste
- 1 heaping Tbsp chopped cilantro
- 2-3 Tbsp oil for sautéing
Potato Filling
- 3-4 large Yukon gold potatoes, peeled and cubed
- 1 medium onion, finely chopped
- 2 large garlic cloves, finely chopped
- About ½ cup fresh or frozen shelled green peas
- A generous pinch of turmeric
- ¾-1 tsp curry powder
- ¼ tsp of cayenne or to taste
- Salt, to taste
- 1 heaping Tbsp finely chopped cilantro
- 2-3 Tbsp oil for sautéing
Remove the puff pastry sheets from a package and put on a counter side by side. Don’t unfold them yet or they will break. It takes about 40 minutes to thaw puff pastry, so you’ll have plenty of time to cook the filling and do other prep work.
Lamb filling:
In a pan, heat oil on a medium
high heat. Add onions and carrots and sauté, stirring often, until they become lightly
browned and tender. Add lamb and cook, constantly stirring and breaking it with
a spatula or wooden spoon into very small pieces, until it gets almost cooked
through, about 5-7 minutes. Add fenugreek, cumin seeds, garlic, and cilantro
and give a good stir. Cook for another couple of minutes and remove from the
heat. Let cool to room temperature.
Potato filling:
Cover potatoes with water and
bring to a simmer. Salt the water, reduce the heat slightly and cook the
potatoes until tender, but not falling apart. Drain and mash the potatoes well
with a fork. Leaving some lumps is absolutely OK.
In a wide pan, heat oil on a medium high heat. Add onions and sauté, stirring often, until tender and lightly golden. Stir in garlic and the spices and cook for another minute. Add green peas and let them heat through. Add the potatoes and cilantro and stir well. Remove from the heat and let cool to room temperature.
Meanwhile, start preheating the oven to 400 F. In a small bowl, mix an egg with 1 tablespoon water.
Unfold puff pastry sheets and roll each into approximately 14” x 14” square. With a pizza wheel or a sharp knife, make two horizontal and two vertical cuts to divide each sheet into 9 equal squares.
Divide the filling between the squares, piling it in the center of each. Brush
the perimeter of each square with the egg wash, fold in half diagonally and press
the edges together with your fingers.
Now press along the edges with a fork
tines (I take a small seafood fork) to make sure that the seams are tightly
sealed.
Arrange the turnovers on a baking sheet lined with a silicone matt or a piece of parchment paper. Brush each with the egg wash and make several slits on top to let the steam escape during baking.
Put into the oven and bake for about 15 minutes or until the turnovers have puffed up and turned golden brown.
Remove from the oven and transfer to a platter. Serve warm with cilantro pesto or a sauce made of Greek yogurt, mixed with chopped fresh dill, salt, black pepper, several drops of lemon juice, a teeny bit of olive oil and coarsely grated cucumber (wrap it in paper towel and gently squeeze the water out before adding).
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