Beans and Toast

I heard the words Apple Turnover for the first time in years the other day was instantly transported back to the age of 11, rolling out those heavily processed Pillsbury jam filled evil excuses for food.  Despite the nauseous twisting I feel in my stomach at contemplating eating those again, the craving persists.  I did some quick research and discovered that Apple Turnovers were first created in seventh century Poland by Jonas Turnover, a wealthy apple farmer.  I assume we both know that when I say “research” I mean that I fell into a deep peyote induced dream.  I was quite sober for the tasting however, and the light amount of work involved yields a really great treat.

Recipe adapted from Cafe Nilson

Ingredients

• 2 Gala Apples, peeled and cut into chunks
• 1 tbsp sugar (plus extra for sprinkling)
• 2 tbsp honey
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• 1 tsp cinnamon (plus extra for sprinkling)
• 1/2 tsp nutmeg
• pinch of salt
• 1 tsp cornstarch
• 1 sheet, frozen puff pastry (I used President’s Choice) defrosted over night in the fridge
• 1 egg plus 1 tbs water beaten together

Directions

Mix all ingredients from apples down to salt together in a bowl. Go watch a television program provided that program is 30 minutes or so in duration. Or consider spending about 30 minutes on your actual dinner. My point is you need to leave those apples and spices for 30 minutes, room temperature, let the salt yank some of those juices out of them.

I’m going to say now is a good time to preheat that oven to 400°F. Spread out the sheet of puff pastry and cut it into 4 even squares (they were pretty big turnovers, 5×5 inch, but for even squares your next option is 9 3×3 inch. If you have a dinner party where several pygmies are coming over, cut into 9 squares.) Lay the squares on a parchment paper lined baking sheet and return to the fridge for a moment.

Now the drain the juicy goodness from those apples into a bowl and mix the cornstarch in. Microwave that for about 30 seconds or so, enough to get to a boil plus a few seconds. This sounds strange, but the result is a thick syrup you then pour back on the apples and stir it up to coat. Divide the apples to the middle of each square of puff pastry and fold into triangles. Cut small vents into the top of each turnover and coat in egg wash, then sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar. Bake for 30 minutes. Eat warm, each bite dipped into sweetened whipped cream