One of the cookbooks that I have been using frequently of late is Dorie Greenspan's Around My French Table. The book is full of fairly simple but delicious recipes that are perfect for either a casual dinner or a fancier dinner party. It has been an excellent source of inspiration, especially for our Sunday Suppers.
It is natural, then, that I turned to Greenspan's book to give me some ideas for rhubarb, my current obsession. I had already made a galette a few times, as well as a variation using filo dough. This weekend I also made rhubarb-thyme compote, throwing in some strawberries for good measure.
We had gotten some apples from the farmers' market along with our rhubarb and I thought the two would be delicious together. Greenspan's book has a recipe for Compote de Pommes, and in the margin, she gave instructions for turning the compote into apple turnovers. A few minor tweaks and I had a lovely variation that uses rhubarb. These sweet little turnovers are just big enough to hold in your hand, the perfect little hand pie.
The puff pastry gives the turnovers a light, crunchy texture which is a nice contrast to the sauce in the filling. Because they are made with prepared puff pastry dough, they don't take too long to put together and are perfect for a snack or a party.
As obsessions go, I'm definitely enjoying this one.
Second Helping: Rhubarb-Mint Popsicles (hmmmm, apparently, I was gorging on rhubarb last year, too)
Thirds: Candied Ginger Scones
Adapted from Dorie Greenspan's Around My French Table
Makes about 18 turnovers
30 minutes preparation time, plus a couple of hours to defrost the puff pastry)
approximately 20 minutes baking time
1 14-ounce sheet puff pastry dough (I used Dufour)
3 large stalks of rhubarb, scrubbed and diced (about 1 1/2 cups)
3 large apples, peeled, cored, and sliced (about 5 cups)
1 tablespoon brown sugar
2 tablespoons granulated sugar, plus extra to sprinkle on top
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 egg, lightly beaten
If your puff pastry comes frozen, put it in the refrigerator to defrost for a couple of hours before you need it.
Put the apples and rhubarb in a small stockpot with a splash of water to keep them from sticking. Add the sugar and stir. Put the pot over medium heat, cover it, and bring it to a simmer. Simmer until the fruit is meltingly soft, about 15 minutes. Mash the fruit slightly with a bean masher or a wooden spoon. Add the vanilla and butter, and stir. Set the mixture aside while you roll out the dough.
Lightly flour a work surface. Unfold the puff pastry dough and lay it out on the work surface. Lightly flour the top of the dough and roll it with a rolling pin until it is very thin. The thinness doesn't matter too much, but the thinner it is, the better the ratio of dough to filling will be, and the more you will be able to make.
Cut the dough into approximately 4-inch circles using the edge of a saucer or whatever other implement you have handy. (I made mine 3-inches, and I think a larger size is better because it will allow more filling per pastry).
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Scoop a tablespoon of the rhubarb-apple mixture onto one half of each circle of dough, leaving about a half inch border around the edge. Brush the border of the circle with egg and fold the dough over to make a half circle. Using the tines of a fork, press the dough onto itself to seal it. (If you don't seal it completely, the sauce will ooze out as it cooks. This happened with lots of ours which actually is not the worst thing in the world.
Sprinkle the top of each turnover with a bit of sugar and poke a couple of holes in the top of each turnover.
Bake the turnovers until they are golden brown and the filling begins to ooze out of the steam holes, about 20 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature.
Have you made her cocoa buttermilk cake? It's in her "Baking, from my home to yours" book. I've made it about 6 times in the last 2 months, I think. And everyone always wants the recipe. I highly recommend it, and I'm sure you could eat it for breakfast!
Posted by: Andrea | May 17, 2011 at 09:09 AM