The ever-delicious turnover has crossed many borders

By Courtney Taylor
Gannett News Service

Turnovers filled with figs, peaches, apples and cherries can be light and savory desserts. Others, filled with meats and vegetables, may have originated as quick meals that could be carried anywhere. Gannett News Service

It's easy to see how turnovers or "wraps" have become a part of food traditions around the world. Often, nomads or peasants used breads, such as pita or tortillas, as utensils instead of plates or knives and forks. Eventually, these flatbreads were developed into wrappers and finally into turnovers, dumplings and pasties.

Cornish pasties (say past, not paste) were developed, for instance, for the 18th-century miners in Cornwall, England. The tin miners carried a sealed pastry filled with carrots, peas, potatoes and meat in their pockets. Often, their wives would fill one corner of the pocket with sweetened fruit, so that hubby's last bite would be dessert.

Indigenous ingredients dictated the flavor and texture of wraps and fillings, as in corn flour tortillas from the American Southwest, Central and South America and rice-flour dumplings from Southeast Asia.

Many turnovers become synonymous with certain cuisine, such as the small spinach pies or spanakopita triangles of Greece, made with phyllo wrappers and spinach and feta fillings, or Middle Eastern pita pockets made with whole-wheat dough and filled with meat and yogurt.

Because turnovers are economical, they have remained staples in many countries. Although most U.S. cooks shudder at the thought of making pastry from scratch, with the advent of the food processor, most of the recipes are simple. Also, keep in mind frozen dough. The next time you make a batch of pie dough in the food processor, make an extra batch to freeze. You can vary the flavor of the pastry by adding garlic, herbs, nuts, grated cheese or spices.

Leftover meat, seafood, beans, tofu or vegetables make excellent fillings for turnovers.

To form turnovers, roll out the dough on a lightly floured work surface to a 16-inch square about one-sixteenth of an inch thick. With a sharp knife, cut the dough into five-inch squares or circles, or smaller for bite-size turnovers. Spoon the filling on a triangular half of each square, then fold the dough over to form triangles. Press down on the edges to seal, first with your fingers, then with the tines of a fork.

Place the sealed turnovers on a baking sheet and chill for 30 minutes or freeze. Before baking, brush the turnovers with beaten egg and cut vents in the top of each one. Sprinkle with nuts or sugar if desired before baking.

Try the following recipes:

Cornish Beef and Vegetable Pasties

For dough:

• 2 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 stick (1/2 cup) cold unsalted butter, cut into bits
• 1 large egg yolk
• 1/3 to 1/2 cup ice water
• 1 large egg, lightly beaten, for brushing pastry

For filling:

• 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 12 ounces small mushrooms, thinly sliced
• 1 medium onion, finely chopped
• 2 garlic gloves, finely chopped
• 1 large russet (baking) potato
• 1 1/2 pound skirt steak, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
• 2 carrots, coarsely chopped
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
• 1 and 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper

To make dough: Blend together flour, salt and butter in a bowl with your fingertips or a pastry blender (or pulse in a food processor) until mixture resembles coarse meal with some roughly pea-size lumps.

Beat together yolk and one-third cup ice water, then drizzle over flour mixture and gently stir with a fork (or pulse in a food processor) until incorporated.

Gently squeeze a small handful of dough. If it doesn't hold together, add more ice water, one-half tablespoon at a time, stirring (or pulsing) after each addition until just incorporated, continuing to test. (If you overwork dough or add too much water, pastry will be tough.)

Turn dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and divide your hand, smear each portion once in a forward motion to help distribute fat. Form each portion into a disk, rotating on work surface. Wrap disks separately in wax paper or plastic wrap and chill until firm, at least one hour and up to eight hours.

Make filling while dough chills: Heat one tablespoon oil in a large heavy skillet over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking, then saute mushrooms, stirring, until browned and dry — about six minutes. Transfer to a large bowl. Add remaining two tablespoons of oil to skillet and cook onion and garlic over moderate heat, stirring, until softened, about five minutes. Add onion to mushrooms. Peel potato and cut into one-half-inch cubes, then add to mushroom mixture with steak, carrots, parsley, salt and pepper, tossing well. Cool completely.

Assemble: Roll out one piece of dough on lightly floured surface into a nine-inch round (keep remaining pieces covered). Mound one cup of filling on the round of dough, slightly off center. Brush a half-inch border on dough with water and fold dough over to form a half moon. Trim edge with a fluted pastry wheel or a knife, then crimp to seal. Cut three small steam vents in top crust with a sharp knife and put pasty on one of two buttered large baking sheets.

Make more pasties with remaining dough and filling, then chill 30 minutes, loosely covered.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Brush pasties with egg and bake in upper and lower thirds of oven, switching positions and rotating sheets halfway through baking, until golden, about 40 minutes total. Cool slightly before serving.

Makes six turnovers.

Empanadas

• 1 1/2 cups lukewarm water
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon dry yeast
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1/4 cup lard or shortening
• 4 cups flour

Dissolve yeast in water. Cut lard into flour and other dry ingredients. Add water-yeast mixture and knead well, until dough will spring back when pressed. Roll out mixture until thin and cut with a biscuit cutter (a 4-inch round recommended). Place a small amount of filling in center of pastry and fold. Seal with a fork. Fry in hot grease or bake in 400-degree oven until golden brown.

Apple with Honey Empanada Filling

• 2 large baking apples, peeled and diced
• 1/3 cup honey
• 1/2 cup chopped pecans
• 1/4 cup raisins or currants
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

Soften apples in butter and lemon juice on low heat. Add honey, pecans, raisins, cinnamon and salt. Mix well and remove from heat. Let cool.

Peach Empanada Filling

• 1 pound dried peaches
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup lemon juice
• 1 cup water
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon flour

Add all ingredients except flour to saucepan and cook on low heat until most of the liquid is absorbed, about seven minutes. Stir in flour, remove from heat and chill.

Fresh Fig Empanada Filling

• 2 pounds fresh figs
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon lemon juice
• 1/4 teaspoon teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon vanilla

Put all ingredients into saucepan and cook on low heat until figs begin to soften. Remove from heat and cool. There will be enough moisture from the figs to cook them.

Black Bean and Chorizo Empanada Filling

• 4 cups cooked black beans, (if canned, rinse first)
• 1 cup diced celery
• 1/2 cup diced bell pepper, red or green
• 1/4 cup diced celery
• 1 tablespoon chopped garlic
• 1 pound chorizo, skinned
• 1 tablespoon cumin
• 2 tablespoons chile powder
• 1/4 cup chopped cilantro
• 1 jalapeno pepper, minced (optional)
• Salt and pepper to taste

Saute vegetables in small amount of oil until tender. Brown chorizo and add to beans along with vegetable mixture. Add seasonings and cilantro and mix well. Adjust salt and pepper (a mixture of white, black and red pepper recommended.)

To make this a vegetarian dish, just eliminate the sausage and increase beans or use a soy sausage or tofu or tempeh.