Vermont Meat or Veggie Turnovers
Turnovers - called so many different things are a fun way to celebrate local food by making an all-local pastry dough and stuffing it with local fillings. In this recipe we make a cream cheese pastry, adapted from King Arthur Flour, and you can choose one of different fillings Vermont Curried Beef, Vermont Bacon and Sauerkraut, or Vermont Chard and Goat Cheese. Or make up your own!
Prep Time
Cook Time
Yield
Ingredients
Instructions
Vermont Cream Cheese Pastry
Combine the dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl. With two knives, a pastry blender or your fingertips, cut or rub the butter and cream cheese into the dry ingredients until they are broken up into tiny, pea-sized pieces.
Sprinkle in the ice water, a tablespoon at a time, mixing and tossing with a fork until the dough is evenly moistened.
Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and knead once, flattening it into a 1-inch-thick disk. Wrap in waxed paper or plastic and refrigerate for (at least) 1 hour.
If you have refrigerated your dough for longer than 1 hour, let it sit at room temperature for 10-15 minutes before roIling.
Divide dough into 7 pieces and lightly shape into balls. Working with 1 at a time (you may need to refrigerate the rest in plastic wrap to keep cold), roll into 6-inch rounds.
Transfer to a parchment-paper lined baking sheet(s) for filling.
Choose one of the following recipes to make your filling before assembling the turnovers:
- Curried Vermont Beef Filling
- Vermont Bacon & Sauerkraut Filling
- Vermont Chard, Apple & Goat Cheese Filling
Assembling the turnovers
Preheat your oven to 400 degrees F. Working quickly so the dough doesn't get too soft, place filling on one-half of each pastry round 1⁄4 inch from the outside edge (don’t overfill).
Lightly moisten the edge of each pastry round with water. Gently stretch and then fold the half of the pastry that has nothing on it over the filling. Press the edges of the turnovers with the tines of a fork or your fingers to make a decorative, tightly sealed edge.
Baking: Transfer the turnovers to a lightly greased baking sheet. Beat the egg with the milk to create an egg wash. Pierce the tops of the turnovers twice with a fork and brush them with the egg wash. Bake in the middle of the oven for 10 minutes. Reduce the temperature to 375 degrees F and continue baking to 15-20 minutes longer until the bottoms are browned and the tops are golden. Let cool on a rack for at least 15 minutes before serving.
