Savoury Onion Turnovers
When most of us think of pastries, our imagines drift towards sweet thoughts. Be it butter tarts, lemon meringue pies or apple turnovers pastries are always a treat. There is however an entirely different branch of the pastry tree, the savoury branch.
Savoury pies have been around for a very, very long time. Chicken and beef pot pies are always a big hit this time of year, but what about those among us who choose to opt out of meat products? There are also pies crafted from kale and squash, tarts made from tomatoes and onion and hand pies containing peppers and mushrooms. The basics of pastries are the crust and baking method, the creativity comes from within. Almost anything can be moulded into the middle of a baked good.
The winter brings with it hearty meals, although there are still a few of us who are holding onto their new years resolutions and trying to take off a few pounds. There is a way to, pardon the take on the pun, have your pastry and eat it too. Most diets do have allowances for items such as flour and fat, you simply need to contain yourself and scale down your portion sizes. This week I’m baking off some vegetarian onion turnovers, don’t worry there is more inside than just onion.
Recipe
Ingredients:
1 pack phyllo pastry
2 Tbsp. vegetable oil
2 yellow or white onions, halved and sliced
1 red onion, halved and sliced
227g. button mushrooms, quartered
½ cup peas, frozen.
2 oz. (60ml) balsamic vinegar.
Directions:
- Defrost phyllo pastry.
- In a large pan heat vegetable oil and cook yellow and red onions until caramelized.
- Add chopped mushrooms, stir and cook mixture for additional 10 minutes.
- Stir in peas and balsamic vinegar, let stand off heat and covered for 10 minutes.
- Take two sheets of phyllo pastry per packet and fold into quarters.
- Spoon 1-2 tbsp of the heated vegetables into the centre of the quarter phyllo sheet.
- Fold phyllo sheet over diagonally and pinch the edges with your fingers.
- Repeat steps 5-7 as many times as necessary.
- Bake on a greased or parchment lined baking tray for 15 minutes at 375 degrees F. or until cooked through.
- Cool and serve
Where this dish may seem a little more complicated, and have a few more steps than a number of other dishes, I assure you the effort is worth it. These simple little phyllo turnovers will offer a welcome addition to any spread at a gathering or as a change of pace from your garden salad at lunch. This inexpensive garden mixture all wrapped in a neat little package will surely satisfy the vegetarian in anyone.