Butternut Squash Turnovers – Recipe

After starting our day with an awesome boot camp fitness class, my sister in law (Cheriss) and I cooked all day on Saturday. We made many yummy dishes and documented much of the day in photos. I am excited to share all the recipes with you over the next few months, starting with the undisputed favorite of the evening: Butternut Squash Turnovers.

I got this recipe from ‘Food & Wine‘ magazine and followed it exactly the way the instructions suggested, with mouth-watering results.

Ingredients:

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

3 large leeks, white parts only

1/2 pound shiitake mushrooms

2 garlic cloves, chopped

1 tablespoons thyme leaves

salt & pepper

2 pounds butternut squash

14 ounces all butter puff pastry

3/4 pound goat cheese

1 large egg, beaten

Step 1: Preheat oven to 375. On the stovetop, heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a large skillet. Dice the leaks into 1 inch cubes and add to olive oil. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until softened (around five minutes). Add shiitake and cook, stirring often, until liquid has evaporated (about another five minutes). Stir in chopped garlic and thyme and cook for an additional two minutes. Season with salt and pepper and transfer to a bowl.

Step 2:Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and lightly oil the parchment. Peel the squash (we cut the squash into manageable pieces and cut the skin off. Using a vegetable peeler didn’t even make a dent). Toss the squash with 2 tablespoons of olive oil, season with salt and pepper. Spread the squash on the baking sheet and bake for 25 minutes until the squash softens and begins to brown. Add this browned squash to the leeks and mushrooms and toss.

Step 3: Roll out pastry puff flat (we bought ours in sheets so got to skip this step). Cut the pastry into 4″ squares. Spoon as much of the mixture as you can safely fit into the pastry squares, leaving room for a generous dollop of goat cheese. The recipe suggested 2 tablespoons of vegetables and 2 tablespoons of goat cheese but there’s no way we could have fit that much into the little pastry puffs. Lightly brush the edge of the squares with beaten egg (the egg acts like a glue). Fold the squares over to form triangles and crimp the edges with a fork for a snazzy finished look.

Step 4: Put turnovers on a baking sheet (mine stuck so make sure yours is non stick or generously oiled). Brush the top of the turnovers with the remaining beaten egg. Bake for 25 minutes or until pastry is golden brown. Serve warm and wait for the accolades to roll in.The entire recipe took about 90 minutes to prep, stuff and cook and was well worth it. The turnovers were delicious!