Autumn is the peak season for all kinds of squash. For all pumpkin, red kuri squash, and other squash enthusiasts, here is an easy recipe to serve as a starter or appetizer. The small pumpkin and cheese turnovers are quick to prepare and will delight your guests on Halloween night.
Here are the ingredients needed to prepare pumpkin cheese turnovers for 4 people:
500 g of pumpkin.
2 sheets of shortcrust pastry.
50 g of grated cheese.
1 teaspoon of cornstarch.
Grated nutmeg.
Salt and pepper.
3 tablespoons of milk for glazing.
Note: In this recipe, you can replace the nutmeg with spices of your choice, such as cumin or garam masala, for example.
Of course, you can prepare this appetizer after carving your Halloween pumpkin. But if you're short on time, you can also use frozen squash puree.
For this pumpkin cheese turnovers recipe, it is best to use fresh vegetables. With fresh pumpkin, the filling's texture is less watery.
1- Dice the pumpkin flesh and steam it until very tender.
2- Roughly mash the pumpkin flesh with a fork, then add the finely grated cheese and sifted cornstarch. The cornstarch helps bind everything together and absorb any excess juice.
3- Season the filling with salt, pepper, and nutmeg or another spice of your choice, then let it cool.
Note: if using frozen squash puree, thaw it in a saucepan and let the water evaporate. Be sure to thicken the puree over low heat before adding the other ingredients.
To make these pumpkin cheese turnovers, I used shortcrust pastry, which is less fatty than puff pastry.
1- Roll out the shortcrust pastry on your work surface.
2- Use a simple overturned bowl and a knife to cut out circles of dough.
3- Adjust the diameter of the bowl based on the type of turnovers you want to prepare. After folding, the size of the turnover corresponds to half the dough circle.
• If you want to serve these savory pumpkin turnovers as a starter, with a side dish, I recommend using a bowl of about 15 cm in diameter.
• On the other hand, if you want to prepare small pumpkin turnovers for an appetizer, use a circle of about 6 or 7 cm in diameter.
Once you have cut the circles of shortcrust pastry to your desired size, assembling the pumpkin cheese turnovers is very simple.
1- For each turnover, spread a spoonful of pumpkin filling on half of the pastry circle, leaving a margin of about 1 cm at the edge.
2- Fold the shortcrust pastry over the filling to form a turnover.
3- Seal the turnover by pinching the edges with your thumb or with a fork to securely seal the pastry.
4- Brush the turnovers with a little milk using a kitchen brush.
5- Place the turnovers on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper as you go.
1- Preheat your oven to 180°C.
2- Bake the pumpkin cheese turnovers until they are nicely golden.
3- Allow about 30 minutes of baking for large turnovers and 20 minutes for small appetizer turnovers.
Upon removing from the oven, let the pumpkin cheese turnovers rest for about ten minutes before serving. Indeed, the pumpkin-based filling is very hot inside the turnovers and could burn you.
As a starter, you can serve this turnover with a green salad, a mix of young shoots, or a sautéed vegetable dish as shown in the photo below.
If you have leftover dough scraps when cutting the shortcrust pastry to make the pumpkin cheese turnovers, don't throw them away!
You can make homemade crackers by brushing the dough scraps with milk and sprinkling them with sesame seeds before baking.
Author Audrey on 24 March 2023
Gastronomy and Food : Food
Author Audrey on 26 October 2023
Gastronomy and Food : Food