Now you might be thinking, "Why would you become obsessed with the idea of turkey and cheese inside of puff pastry?" I'm glad you asked. Back in NYC, Michael and I had a beloved bakery: Martha's. While we normally went there for the sweet treats, there was one savory piece of deliciousness that we also visited for: these delicious savory pastries that were highlighted on lunch specials. They had a few different kinds but we especially loved the turkey-swiss ones.
So I was like..."Yeah. Let's make that. But with provolone. And some spinach because that's healthy and it doesn't hurt. And, hey, let's make whole wheat puff pastry dough....YEAH! I'M MAKING THAT TONIGHT"--this was my thought process at work the other day. So I made the pastry dough and then I made these. The circle of delicious food blogger life.
It was probably the best idea I've had in quite some time.
I can tell this is a new favorite. And I can tell because I'm already gearing up to make these again. And it took us barely more than a day to plow through the 8 I made the first time. So...yeah. New addiction.
But seriously...you cannot blame us.
Listen up: these savory pastries are portable (ok...they're sort of giant so portable is questionable. Whatever.), quick and easy to make (if you already have some puff pastry chilling out in your refrigerator), customizable (oh you wanna make some ham and cheese pastries? OK! You want to make some sort of vegetarian version-maybe spinach and feta? Go to town! SKY IS THE LIMIT!), and oh...sooo...DELICIOUS.
Flaky, buttery, (and, if whole wheat, hearty), pastry gives way to melted and delicious cheese, a little hint of spinach, and some smoky turkey. Plus 1 of them is giant so half of one kind of fills you up. Mmmmm....You know what? I'm gonna go make myself some of these right. NOW!
Turkey Spinach Provolone Pastry
Author: Kayle, "The Cooking Actress"
Makes 6-8 pastries.
Ingredients:
- Approx. 2 lbs. puff pastry dough (store-bought, homemade, or homemade whole wheat)
- About 6-8 pieces of thick sliced turkey
- Spinach, to taste
- About 12-16 slices of provolone cheese
- 1 egg + 1 tsp. water, beaten together
Preparation:
- Preheat oven to 350F degrees. Lightly grease a large baking sheet or line with parchment paper.
- Roll 1 lb. puff pastry out, on a thoroughly floured surface, until thin. Cut into 6-8 evenly sized squares.
- Lay half of the cut out squares onto the prepared baking sheet. Place 1 slice of turkey onto each square. Top with as much spinach as you'd like. Top with 1-2 slices of provolone cheese. Cover each with one of the remaining dough squared, lining the edges up as best you can. Seal the edges by pressing around them with a fork.
- Repeat this process with the remaining pound of pastry dough and the rest of the turkey, spinach, and cheese.
- Cut a couple slits into the top of each pastry with a sharp paring knife. Then, using a pastry brusg, brush them with the egg and water mixture.
- Bake 25-30 minutes, or until golden brown.
- Cool completely and serve!
Everything should be encased in pastry. #fact