PUFF PASTRY: SAVORY AND SWEET

 

Puff Pastry: Savory and Sweet

             We all love the welcoming fragrance of freshly baked goods wafting from the kitchen whether it comes from cookies, bread or pastry. Less welcome is the effort required for preparing the dough, especially for pastry. However, like pie pastry, puff pastry is now available in stores. It usually comes frozen in sheets or small cups ready for filling. I recently discovered unfrozen puff pastry as rolled sheets in the deli case, which brought me to experiment with some new ways for using this delectable resource.

          The fresh puff pastry reminded me of a savory strudel recipe I had made some years ago.  Puff pastry seemed a worthy replacement for this savory strudel, an excellent dish to serve for lunch or a light supper with a salad. 

 

                   Smoked Turkey, Mushroom and Cabbage Strudel

          Note: this would be equally good made with ham or slivers of stir-fried pork.

This recipe is for filling of one 10x13 inch sheet of fresh puff pastry dough or 2 sheets of the frozen 9x9 inch pastry. Prepare all diced ingredients before making the filling. Preheat oven to 450 degrees

1)    Slice 3 oz. fresh shitake and 3 oz. button mushrooms. Chop 1 medium onion, coarsely shred 2-3 cups cabbage, mince 2 garlic cloves and cube 4-5 oz. thickly sliced smoked turkey.

2)    In a small bowl mix: 4 tablespoons dry Marsala wine or sherry, 2 teaspoons cornstarch, 2 teaspoons soy sauce, ½ teaspoon wine vinegar.

3)    Heat 2 teaspoons grapeseed oil in a pan and sauté the onion and garlic for 3 minutes, stir in the cabbage and mushrooms and 2 tablespoons water. Cover and cook until vegetables are just wilted (about 3 minutes). Uncover and stir fry until liquid is absorbed.

4)    Add turkey to the pan and stir in the Marsala mix. Cook with tossing until all ingredients are coated with the thickening mix (1-2 minutes). Remove from heat and allow to cool slightly.

5)    Roll out the fresh pastry (or the thawed-out sheets) on wax paper, and layer the filling along one long side of the pastry leaving 2 inches at the ends and fold them over the filling. Roll the rest jelly roll style and place on a greased pan with the sealed side down. Brush with an egg yolk beaten with 1 tablespoon water. Score the pastry top down to the filling to mark 4 equal sections.

6)     Bake at 450 degrees for 15-17 minutes until puffed and browned. Serve warm. Leftovers can be reheated in the microwave without loss of flavor.

My husband is rather fond of sweet breakfasts, which led to the following recipe for flaky Danish made with puff pastry. Danish pastries are usually filled with some combination of cream cheese and jam. Since we live in Maine and I had frozen Maine blueberries in the freezer, this is the combination that evolved in our kitchen.

                              Puff Pastry Danish with Blueberries.

Thaw one sheet of frozen puff pastry. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

1)    In a small bowl beat together: 6 oz. soft cream cheese, scant ¼ cup sugar, 1 large egg yolk, 2 tablespoons flour and ½ teaspoon lemon flavoring.

2)    In a cup beat 1 egg yolk with 1 tablespoon water for the glaze

3)    Open the puff pastry on a lightly floured board and roll with a rolling pin to a 12 inch square. Cut the pastry in 9 four inch squares and place the squares on a parchment lined pan.

4)    Top each square with 1 tablespoon of the filling on the diagonal. Slightly press 1 teaspoon frozen blueberries in the filling.

5)    Bring 2 together corners opposite the filling and firmly seal with the yolk mix. Brush the tops with the remaining yolk mix.

6)    Bake at 425 degrees for 15 minutes until slightly browned.

Inspecting the finished product, we did not wait for breakfast. Afternoon tea with freshly baked blueberry Danish was not to be missed on a snowy winter afternoon!

   (I. Winicov Harrington lives in Waldoboro and is the author of “How to Eat Healthy and Well for Less than $5.00 a Day: the Smart-Frugal Food Plan”; website: www.winicov-harrington.com)