NEW LIFE FOR THE LEFTOVERS

 

Going to recycle the roast pork, sweet potato flans.

Remember those sweet potato flans from last week’s blog? We were only three for Christmas dinner, but I had made enough for a banquet. I frequently do that if I am testing the proportions for a recipe. Then I need to figure out what to do with the leftovers.

I found in the cupboard a carton of coconut milk (unsweetened beverage, not canned coconut “milk” for cooking) whose expiry date had come and gone. And some leeks that were threatening to expire as well as a bag of chopped chard, passed over more than once. Soup? Yes, a curried sweet-potato soup with coconut milk and chard.

Leftover sweet potato flans, mashed up and cooked with curry and coconut milk, get a new lease on life as soup.

Chunks of pork get recycled with black-eyed peas with spicy sofrito--good fortune for the New Year.

The main dish for the holiday meal was a boneless pork shoulder roast, done with a Venezuelan-style pernil marinade with orange juice (that recipe is here.). That pork went round a few more times, but in different guises. First was Chinese-style red-cooked pork. Since the pork was already well-seasoned and cooked, all I had to do was make the rich sauce—using leftover pork gravy, soy sauce, Sherry, ginger and star anise—and reheat chunks of pork in the sauce. I accompanied the pork with rice and stir-fried cabbage, recycled from a cabbage dish served at another meal.

The end chunks of the roast are heading for 2024 in a pot of black-eyed peas. Those guarantors of good fortune in the new year were cooked and ready-to-go in the freezer. All I needed to do was add a spicy sofrito. (The recipe for black-eyed peas with pork and sofrito is here. A vegetarian recipe for black-eyed peas is here.)

Even the pork marinade, half of which was stashed in the freezer, will re-emerge on New Year's Eve as a marinade for magret de pato, duck breast, with a different sort of orange sauce!

Curried Sweet Potato Soup

Sopa de Batatas al Curry

Some of the sweet potatoes I used for the soup were leftover flans that contained grated cheese and had been cooked with eggs. If you use plain pureed sweet potatoes, you may want to add a little grated cheese.  Once cooked, blend the soup. Add the cooked chard before serving.

Serves 4.

2 cups pureed sweet potatoes

3 tablespoons olive oil

1 cup chopped leeks or onions

1 clove chopped garlic

½ apple, diced

1 teaspoon curry powder

½ teaspoon grated fresh ginger

4 cups unsweetened coconut milk beverage

Salt

Freshly ground black pepper

¼ cup grated cheese (optional)

3 tablespoons lemon juice

1 cup cooked, chopped chard 

Chopped scallions, to garnish

Greek yogurt, to garnish

Smoked pimentón (sweet or hot)

Heat the oil in a pan and sauté the leeks and garlic until they are softened, 5 minutes. Add the apple, curry powder, ginger, and the pureed sweet potatoes. Mash the sweet potatoes into the sautéed leeks. Add the coconut milk. Season with salt and pepper. Add grated cheese, if using. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and cook 15 minutes, until leeks and apple are very soft. 

Use an immersion blender to blend the soup until quite smooth. Add lemon juice and reheat the soup before serving. Add chard to serve. Garnish with scallions and yogurt. Sprinkle with pimentón.

More recipes for recycling leftover food:

"Ropa Vieja" (Hash).

Chickpea Puree with Croutons.

Stuffed Eggplant with Lamb.

Cous Cous with Leftover Lamb.

Orange-Olive Salad with Leftover Chicken.

New Year's resolution: Join the movement! SIN DESPERDICIOS!  NO FOOD WASTE!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!    FELIZ AÑO NUEVO!

SWEET POTATOES, SAVORY OR SWEET

 

Sweet potato flans, savory (top) and sweet.

My dear friend, Charlotte (gone from us almost a year now), had a special dish for holidays—sweet potato soufflé. Although it was served as a side with the main course (usually stuffed turkey), it had sugar and sweet spices. I never liked her sweet potato soufflé—it was too much like dessert!

So, why not turn it into dessert? And make a savory version with herbs, cheese, and some hot spices to go with the main course? Here’s the scoop.

Char called the dish “soufflé,” but, although the sweet potatoes puff up during baking, they quickly deflate when resting. Both the sweet and savory versions are more like a flan, or a timbale, sometimes called a pudding. With that in mind, I decided to bake off some of them in flan cups. For easy unmolding, silicone muffin cups are best. Otherwise, generously oil the cups and dust them with flour. The flan can also be baked in an oven casserole.

Oh, incidentally, I am not serving the savory and the sweet flans at the same meal! That would be a little excessive. The savory version makes a good side with roast pork or ham, turkey, salmon. 

Savory sweet potato flans have cheese and a pinch of hot pimentón. A touch of vinegar balances the natural sweetness of the potatoes. A topping of crisp bacon contrasts with the smooth flan.

Same basic ingredients, but with sweet spices and cream cheese instead of  aged Manchego. Top the flans with crunchy walnuts and a drizzle of caramel sauce.

Mashed Sweet Potatoes

Puré de Batatas

Sweet potatoes in Spanish are batatas or boniatos. 

You will need cooked, mashed sweet potatoes for the flan. They can be roasted or boiled. I was making a double batch—one sweet, one savory—using two pounds of sweet potatoes. I chose to peel them, cut them up and boil them. One pound of sweet potatoes makes approximately 1 ½ cups mashed.

1 pound sweet potatoes (to make 1 ½ cups mashed)

Salt

Lemon zest

Peel the sweet potatoes, cut them in chunks and cover with water. Add salt and lemon zest. Bring to a boil and cook until they are fork tender, 15 to 18 minutes. Drain thoroughly. Mash the sweet potatoes with a fork or potato masher.

Mashed sweet potatoes with ingredients for the flans--savory on the left and sweet on the right.

Savory Sweet Potato Flan with Cheese

Flan de Batatas con Queso

The flan can be baked in individual molds and unmolded to serve, pictured, or in a casserole to be served direct to the table.

I used a cured Manchego (sheeps’ milk) cheese for this flan. Any firm, melting cheese could be substituted.

The smooth flan needs something crispy or crunchy to go with it. Chopped pistachios, crisp bacon bits, frizzled onions—take your pick.

 

Serves 8-10.

1 ½ cups cooked and mashed sweet potatoes

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 shallots, finely chopped

1 clove garlic, minced

1 tablespoon dry Sherry

¼ teaspoon pimentón picante de la Vera (smoked hot paprika) or cayenne

1 tablespoon flour

½ cup whole milk

½ teaspoon salt

Freshly ground black pepper

Pinch of thyme

1 tablespoon Sherry vinegar

½ cup grated Manchego

3 eggs, separated

2 drops of lemon juice

Fried bacon bits to garnish (optional)

Chopped pistachios to garnish (optional)

Greek yogurt, to serve (optional)

Heat the oil in a skillet on medium and sauté the shallot and garlic until softened, 4 minutes. Add the Sherry and cook off the alcohol. Add the pimentón and the flour and stir to mix with the oil. Add the milk and whisk the sauce until it thickens. Season with salt, pepper and thyme.

Preheat oven to 375ºF. Oil 8 to 10 muffin cups or an oven-safe casserole. 

Add the sweet potatoes to the skillet and mix well with the sauce. Stir in the vinegar and the grated cheese. Remove the pan from the heat. 

Beat egg whites stiff.

Stir the yolks together. Spoon some of the sweet potatoes into the yolks and mix. Add the yolks-potatoes to the pan and combine thoroughly.

Beat the egg whites until almost stiff. Beat in a pinch of salt and 2 drops of lemon juice. Beat until whites hold stiff peaks. Stir a quarter of the whites into the sweet potato mixture. Gently fold the remaining egg whites into the sweet potatoes. Spoon the mixture into 10 muffin cups or a casserole. Bake until the tops are golden and the flan has puffed up, 15 to 20 minutes for the muffin cups, 25 to 30 minutes for the casserole.

Unmold the cups onto an oiled serving platter. The casserole can go straight to the table. Serve the flans hot, warm or room temperature. Garnish, as desired with bacon bits, pistachios, yogurt, etc.

Flans puff up in baking, deflate as they cool.

Sweet Potato Flan

Flan de Batatas

You could caramelize the flan molds, if desired. I chose not to bother, but served the flans with a (store-bought) caramel sauce to drizzle over the tops once the flans were unmolded. Another possibility would be to use molasses instead of caramel—very reminiscent of a traditional Málaga dish of baked sweet potatoes with miel de caña, molasses.

1 pound sweet potatoes, cooked and mashed (1 ½ cups)

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/8 teaspoon ground ginger

1/8 teaspoon ground cardamom

Grating of fresh nutmeg

½ teaspoon grated lemon zest

2 tablespoon olive oil

1 tablespoon flour

1 tablespoon PX (sweet) wine

½ cup whole milk

¼ cup brown sugar

½ cup cream cheese, softened

1 tablespoon + 2 drops lemon juice

3 eggs, separated

Pinch of salt

Walnuts, to garnish

Molasses or caramel sauce, to serve (optional)

Whipped cream, optional

Mix sweet potatoes and cheese.

Mash the cooked sweet potatoes with the cinnamon, ginger, cardamom, nutmeg and lemon zest. 

Heat the oil in a saucepan and stir in the flour. Cook the flour 1 minute. Add the wine and cook 1 minute, stirring. Whisk in the milk and cook until the sauce thickens. Add the brown sugar and stir well. Stir in the sweet potatoes. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the cream cheese and lemon juice.

Preheat oven to 375ºF. Oil 8 to 10 muffin cups or an oven-safe casserole.

Stir the egg yolks together in a bowl. Add a big spoonful of the sweet potatoes and mix well. Stir the yolk-sweet potato mixture into the pan and combine well. 

Beat the egg whites until almost stiff. Add salt and 2 drops of lemon juice and beat until the whites hold stiff peaks. Stir a quarter of the whites into the sweet potatoes to lighten them. Fold the remaining whites into the sweet potatoes.

Add caramel sauce, walnuts.

Spoon the flan mixture into the muffin cups or casserole. Bake until tops are golden and puffed, 15-20 minutes for the individual cups; 30 minutes for the casserole.

Unmold cups onto a serving platter. Use an offset spatula to transfer them to dessert plates. Garnish, as desired, with walnuts, a dribble of molasses or caramel, whipped cream. Serve warm or chilled.

More recipes with sweet potatoes:

Sweet Potato Fries.

Salad of Sweet Potatoes, Fennel and Clementines.

Sweet Potato Buns.

Turnovers with Sweet Potato Jam (Empanadillas)

Sweet Potato-Molasses Parfait.

Sweet Potato Compote.

A representation of a market in Bethlehem, from the Belén, or nativity scene, at the parochial church in my pueblo. Depicted are crates of sweet potatoes and potatoes, which certainly did not exist in that part of the world in Jesus's time! The figures in the dioramas are about half life-size. 

Happy Christmas! Feliz Navidad!

PIQUILLOS! THE MOST FESTIVE VEGETABLE

 

Piquillo peppers are holiday red!

Their brilliant red color surely qualifies piquillo peppers as the perfect holiday vegetable. Dress ‘em up, dress ‘em down, stuff them or cut them in strips, serve hot or cold, sauced or simply with extra virgin olive oil. 

Piquillo peppers are those small, flame-red peppers you buy in jars or cans at the grocery store. Cooks rave about them for their complex sweet and piquant flavor. The variety of pepper is grown in Navarra (northern Spain), in the area around Lodosa in the Ebro valley. The name, piquillo, means little “beak,” for the pointy tip of the pepper. 

Jar label for Lodosa piquillos.

Pimientos de Piquillo de Lodosa have PDO—protected denomination of origin. Piquillo peppers from Navarra are flame-roasted, hand-peeled and packed in cans or jars. The authentic Lodosa peppers contain, besides the peppers, only salt and an acidulating agent. However, not all piquillos are from Lodosa! Check the labels, because, even in Spain, the piquillos of many brands are imported from Peru and have added sugar.

I once grew piquillo peppers in my vegetable garden. They looked gorgeous, but proved impossible to roast and peel, so thin were the skins. I’m happy just to be able to buy them. 

The classic Basque recipe for stuffed piquillos is with bacalao, salt cod, in a cream sauce. After filling, the peppers are dipped in egg and fried before being finished in the oven. I usually do a similar recipe, using shrimp instead of the cod. (See below for links to more piquillo recipes.) But this week, I’m making a vegetarian version, with a mushroom stuffing. It’s a fine starter for a holiday meal. 

Piquillo peppers stuffed with mushrooms make a festive starter.

Peppers bake with a cheese sauce on top.

Stuffing for peppers is vegetarian.

Piquillo Peppers with Mushroom Stuffing and Cheese Sauce

Pimientos de Piquillo Rellenos con Setas y Salsa de Queso

Ideally, the stuffing would be made with seasonal wild mushrooms, but cultivated ones are delicious too. I used half ordinary white mushrooms and half oyster mushrooms. 

Although the recipe is vegetarian, it is not vegan. If preferred, substitute unsweetened  almond milk for the cream and use a picada topping instead of cheese sauce. (See the recipe for almond-hazelnut picada  here. ) 

Brandy gives the mushrooms real depth of flavor. Brandy de Jerez is aged in Sherry casks. 

The piquillo peppers can be stuffed in advance of baking. Store them, covered and refrigerated. Bring to room temperature before adding the sauce and baking. 

Serves 4 as a starter.

12 piquillo peppers (from a 225-gram jar)

10 ounces mushrooms

¼ cup olive oil + additional for the baking dish

2 shallots, finely chopped

1 clove garlic, finely chopped

¼ teaspoon pimentón de la Vera (smoked paprika) + more to garnish

3 tablespoons Brandy de Jerez

1 small (4-ounce) cooked potato

½ teaspoon salt

Freshly ground black pepper

Pinch of thyme

Pinch of pimentón picante or cayenne

½ cup light cream or evaporated milk

For the cheese sauce:

You will only need about half of this cheese sauce for 12 piquillos. Save the remaining sauce for another use. Broccoli gratin, perhaps?

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 ½ tablespoons flour

¼ teaspoon smoked pimentón

1 cup milk

½ teaspoon salt 

Freshly ground black pepper

2 ounces grated cheese (about 1 cup)

¼ cup hot water

Sauté mushrooms.

Remove peppers from the jar, saving their juices.

Trim mushrooms as needed and chop them coarsely. Heat the oil in a heavy skillet on medium-high. Add the mushrooms, shallots and garlic. Sauté until mushrooms are lightly browned and are beginning to sizzle in the oil. Stir in the pimentón and immediately add the brandy. Cook on medium until the alcohol cooks off, 2 minutes. 

Cut the potato in small dice and add it to the pan with salt, pepper, thyme and picante. Cook 2 minutes, then add the cream or evaporated milk. Cook, stirring and mashing the potatoes slightly. Remove the pan from the heat.

Stuff peppers.

Lightly oil a baking dish that will hold the peppers in one layer. Use a teaspoon (and fingers) to fill the piquillo peppers, gently pushing the filling to the tips. As they are filled, lay them in the baking dish. (The stuffed peppers can be prepared in advance and refrigerated, covered. Bring them to room temperature before baking.)

Stuffed and ready to bake.

For the cheese sauce: Heat the oil in a saucepan and stir in the flour and pimentón. Cook on medium heat for 2 minutes. Whisk in the milk and stir the sauce until it thickens. Season with salt and pepper and cook the sauce 5 minutes. Stir in the grated cheese. Remove the pan from the heat.

Preheat oven to 400ºF. Drizzle the peppers with olive oil and reserved juices drained from the peppers. Pour hot water around the peppers in the baking dish. Spoon the cheese sauce on top of the peppers. Bake the peppers until bubbly and the sauce lightly golden, 15 minutes. Serve hot.

Serve the peppers in the baking dish or carefully lift them out onto individual plates.

More recipes with piquillo peppers:

Piquillo Peppers Stuffed with Shrimp.

Piquillo Pepper Dip.

Cod with Piquillo Peppers, Bilbao Style.

Piquillo Pepper Alioli.

Braised Veal with Piquillo Peppers.

TRADITIONAL SPANISH CHRISTMAS SWEETS

 

Marzipan figures are among the traditional sweets for Christmas.

You know the festive season has begun when the supermarkets set up their displays of  holiday foods. Garlanded with tinsel are racks of hams of every price range, bottles of cava, boxes of chocolates. And, especially, traditional Christmas sweets. 

Wrapped cookies, small cakes, tiny rings.

Here are stacks of the famous turrones, nougat candies, essential for the traditional cena de Nochebuena (Christmas Eve dinner). Now they are confected, not just in the original Alicante (hard, with pieces of almonds) and Jijona (soft and fudgy), but in dozens of variations on the theme. Mazapanes (marzipan) in many shapes and sizes, from fat eels molded in a spiral and studded with candied fruits and beads of frosting to tiny figures. 

Bins brim with Andalusia’s famed dulces—roscos (tiny ring cookies—or, are they doughnuts?); mantecados (crumbly lard cakes—or, are they cookies?), and polvorones (sesame-flecked, powdered sugar-dusted cookies—or, are they tiny cakes?).  These are individually wrapped in tissue paper and sold both packaged and by weight—select a bagful of your favorites. 

In panaderías (bread bakeries) and small tiendas, you might also find locally made empanadillas, little turnovers, spiced with aniseed and filled with candied squash or sweet potato. These are sometimes baked, but more often fried and coated in sugar.

Another great place for buying holiday treats is the convents where cloistered nuns make traditional sweets using recipes handed down through the centuries.

Markets also have a fabulous selection of nuts and dried fruits galore as well as sweets confected with them.

Of especial note is pan de higos, fig “bread.” It’s actually a dense roll of minced figs with almonds, sesame and spices. Another dulce is alfajores made of ground almonds mixed with honey and crumbs, dusted with powdered sugar. Is it a candy or a cookie? 

Two kinds of Christmas sweets: top, roll of minced figs (pan de higos) with sesame, almonds and spices, and, below, alfajores, honey-almond logs made with ground almonds, crumbs, honey and spices.

Spiced Honey-Almond Logs

Alfajores

Wrap alfajores in tissue paper. They keep well.

These almond logs are best if made with whole, skinned almonds that are toasted in the oven. Ground in a food processor, they provide more texture than finely milled almond flour. If you choose to use the flour (unsweetened), toast it in the oven, stirring frequently, taking care that it does not scorch. (Hazelnuts can be used in addition to almonds if desired.) The spices, also, can be used whole or ground. If using whole ones, toast them (all except the cinnamon) before grinding. The sesame seed gets toasted, but not ground.

Once the nuts and spices are toasted, the alfajores do not require the oven. The ingredients are ground, mixed and shaped. Finished by dipping in sugar syrup, they keep well once dry.

You can use packaged fine dry breadcrumbs—unseasoned—but you can also make your own from plain breadsticks or sliced bread that has been toasted in the oven and then ground finely in a food processor. 

The original recipe for alfajores calls for larger quantities of all the spices, especially cloves. This version allows the flavors of honey and almonds to predominate. You can certainly play with the spicing to suit yourself. Don’t be afraid to taste the mix before you roll out the logs.

The alfajores keep for weeks if they are individually wrapped in tissue paper, placed in an air-tight container, and stored in a cool place.

Honey, spices, almonds and breadcrumbs.

Makes 18 (3-inch) rolls.

8 ounces blanched and skinned almonds (1 ¾ cups ground almonds)

¼ cup sesame seeds

¼ teaspoon ground aniseed

½ teaspoon ground cloves

¼ teaspoon ground coriander seeds

1 ¾ cups fine dry bread crumbs (from 7 ounces breadsticks)

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

¼ cup sugar

2/3 cup honey (8 ounces)

For the glaze:

½ cup sugar

½ cup sifted confectioners’ sugar

Preheat oven to 350ºF. 

Spread the almonds on a rimmed baking sheet. Spread the sesame, aniseed, cloves and coriander in a small baking pan. Toast the almonds and spices, stirring after 2 minutes. The spices should be fragrant and the sesame toasted in 3 minutes. Remove them. Stir the almonds again and toast until lightly golden, about 5 minutes total. Remove the almonds from the oven. (Turn off the oven.)

Grind almonds fine or coarse.

Grind the almonds in a food processor as finely as possible, leaving any coarser pieces. (If making breadcrumbs from breadsticks, grind the breadsticks in the processor.) Combine the ground almonds, crumbs, toasted spices and cinnamon in a bowl.

Place the ¼ cup of sugar in a pan with ¼ cup of water. Bring to a boil and cook 1 minute. Remove from the heat.

Place the honey in a pan and bring it to a boil. Remove the pan from the heat. Add the boiled sugar-water to the honey. Stir in the almonds, crumbs and spices and mix well. The mixture will be sticky.

Make balls size of golf balls.

While the almond-honey mixture is still warm, divide it into 18 balls, each weighing 1 ½ ounces or about the size of a golf ball,. Place a sheet of baking parchment on a work surface. 

Roll logs of almond mixture.

Working with one ball at a time, squeeze the balls to compress them, then roll or mold them into 3-inch logs. Place them as shaped on a sheet pan lined with baking parchment.

For the glaze, combine ½ cup of sugar in a pan with ½ of water. Bring to a boil and cook 5 minutes. 

Dip the almond logs into the sugar syrup. Drain them and place on a rack to dry. 

When the almond logs are dry, dredge them in confectioners’ sugar. Wrap them individually in tissue paper. Store the alfajores in an air-tight container. Serve the alfajores in their wrappings or slice them and place on a candy dish.

Fig Rolls

Pan de Higos

Minced figs are mixed with spices and ground almonds, shaped into rolls.

Omit the confectioners’ sugar, if desired. The figs are quite sweet enough without added sugar. Also, if preferred, use a little sweet wine instead of the anise liqueur that is traditional. If using dried figs that have been packaged with a coating of rice flour (pictured below), just remove stems, shake off any excess flour and mince them. 

The fig rolls keep very well stored in an air-tight container in a cool place.

Serve the fig roll sliced into discs and placed on a candy dish. It also combines nicely with salty foods such as serrano or ibérico ham. Skewer thin slices of ham and fig roll on picks for an appetizer. Sandwich thin slices of fig roll with smoked ham or bacon and bake in puff pastry. Serve the fig roll accompanied by aged Manchego or blue cheese.

Dried figs are coated in rice flour.

Makes 4 (6-inch) rolls.

2 pounds dried figs, stems removed

¼ cup confectioners’ sugar

1 cup blanched and skinned almonds

1 teaspoon cinnamon

¼ teaspoon ground aniseed

¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper (optional)

¼ teaspoon ground ginger

Grated lemon peel

¼ cup sweet anise liqueur, brandy or sweet wine 

3 tablespoons toasted sesame seed

Sprinkle the figs with half of the confectioners’ sugar. Put the figs through a food grinder (or chop them in batches in a food processor). There should be about 6 cups of pulp. Place it in a bowl.

Put aside 16 almonds. Chop the rest and add to the figs.

Mix the remaining sugar with the cinnamon, aniseed, pepper, ginger and lemon peel. Sprinkle over the fig mixture and mix it in.

Add the anisette liqueur, brandy or sweet wine. With the hands, knead the mixture to blend well.

Divide the fig mixture into four equal portions. Roll each into a log, about 6 inches long and 1 ½ inch thick.

Spread the toasted sesame seed on a sheet of parchment paper. Roll the fig logs in the sesame, patting to flatten the logs slightly. Press 4 reserved almonds into the top of each of the fig rolls.

Let the rolls dry for 12 hours, then wrap them tightly in plastic wrap.

To serve, cut the rolls crosswise into discs and place on a candy dish.

More recipes for traditional Christmas sweets:

Cinnamon-Wine Rings (Roscos de Vino).

Fried Turnovers with Pumpkin Filling (Empanadillas).

Anise Ring Cookies (Roscos de Aguardiente).

Cinnamon-Lard Christmas Cookies (Mantecados).

Crumbly Olive Oil Cookies (Mantecados de Aceite).

Turnovers with Sweet Potato Jam Empanadillas).

Shortbread Bars with Angel's Hair (Cortadillos de Cidra).

Marzipan Rings (Melindres).

Kings' Day Cake (Roscón de Reyes).

QUICK FIXES FOR HOLIDAY BAKING

 I wanted a holiday dessert that was quick and required no sugar. I had super-sweet dates, figs and raisins for a starting point. I bought a package of ready-made pastry that comes rolled and cut in discs for making empanadillas. A whirl in the mini food processor for the dried fruits and I had a filling for turnovers that baked in under 15 minutes. 

I didn’t use the whole package of 16 pastry discs for the turnovers. The remaining six, I tucked into muffin cups and baked them into shells. A day later, I filled these crispy cups with sautéed mushrooms for a delicious little appetizer.

The pastry discs were adaptable too—I used them to top a turkey pot pie and an apple pie. 

Turnovers are made with store-bought pastry dough, filled with chopped fruits and nuts.

Same pastry discs make cups, filled with sautéed mushrooms.

Turn the discs into crust for a turkey pot pie.

Or, an apple pie dusted with sugar.

The packaged dough comes in 4-inch discs (obleas), ready for filling and folding. The package has the same image as forever, but the brand de toda la vida, La Cocinera, has morphed to Buitoni (both subsidiaries of Nestlé). It’s a sturdy dough, meant to stand up to deep frying, but it bakes up nice and crisp. (Not for everyone, however, as the fat in the dough is pork lard.) 

Fig and Date Turnovers

Empanadillas de Higos y Dátiles

Fruit-nut filling for turnovers.

These fruit-filled turnovers will remind you of mince pies and fig newtons! The filling ingredients given in the recipe can be changed for raisins, prunes, or dried apricots. 

Keep the package of pastry rounds refrigerated. Remove the pastry 10 minutes before using. The discs are layered between no-stick paper. After filling and shaping the turnovers, discard the papers. Place the turnovers on a sheet lined with baking parchment.

Makes 10 turnovers.

Dates, figs, walnuts, apples.

10 (4-inch) pastry discs

1/3 cup walnuts

1/3 cup stemmed and coarsely chopped figs

1/3 cup pitted and coarsely chopped dates

1 teaspoon cornstarch

1 cup chopped apple

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1 tablespoon brandy (optional)

½ teaspoon cinnamon

1/8 teaspoon ground cardamon

Grating of fresh ginger

1 egg, beaten

Confectioners’ sugar to finish

Place the walnuts, figs, dates and cornstarch in a food processor and process until they are finely chopped. Add the apple, lemon juice, brandy, if using, cinnamon, cardamon, and ginger. Process to chop the fruit and nuts. If you want a smooth paste, process longer. 

Fold dough over filling.

Line a baking sheet with baking parchment. Preheat oven to 400ºF.

Spread the individual pastry rounds, still on their paper backing, on a work surface. Place a spoonful of the fruit-nut filling on each round of dough, shaping it into a log that extends almost to the edges. Fold over the dough to make a half-moon empanadilla. Seal the dough either by rolling and pinching the edges together or by crimping them with the tines of a fork. As they are filled and sealed, place them on the baking sheet.

Crimp dough with fork.

Brush the tops of the empanadillas with beaten egg. Bake until golden, 12 to 15 minutes. Cool on a rack. Dust with confectioners’ sugar to serve. The empanadillas keep up to one week stored in a tightly covered container.

Pastry Cups with Sautéed Mushrooms 

Tartaletas de Champiñones al Ajillo

Once baked, the pastry cups can be stored in an air-tight container for up to a week. They do not need to be reheated before filling with the mushroom mixture.

Makes 6 (2 ½-inch) cups.

6 (4-inch) pastry discs

1 egg, beaten

8 ounces mushrooms (3 cups chopped)

3 tablespoons olive oil

2 cloves garlic, sliced

1 shallot, chopped

¼ cup diced red bell pepper

3 tablespoons dry Sherry

Pinch of thyme

Salt

Freshly ground black pepper

¼ cup (1 ounce) diced serrano ham (optional)

Chopped parsley

Press discs of dough into muffin cups.

Preheat oven to 400ºF. Remove pastry discs from the refrigerator 10 minutes before baking. Have ready six (2 ½-inch) muffin molds. (Use a silicone muffin pan or else lightly oil the molds.) 

Gently press a dough round into the molds, letting the dough pleat naturally to fit the mold. Brush the dough with beaten egg. Bake the pastry cups until golden, 12 minutes. Remove the pastry cups from the molds and cool them on a rack. If baked in advance of serving, once cooled, store the pastry cups in an air-tight container. 

Clean and chop the mushrooms. Heat the oil in a skillet. Add the sliced garlic. When it begins to turn golden, add the mushrooms, shallot and red bell pepper. Sauté the mushrooms on high, stirring frequently, until they begin to brown. Add the Sherry, thyme, salt to taste and pepper. Cook off the alcohol, 1 minute. Stir in the ham, if using. Remove the mushrooms from the heat. Add the chopped parsley.

Shortly before serving the pastry cups, spoon the mushroom mixture into the cups. Serve warm or room temperature. 

Pastry cups can be baked in advance and stored. Fill them with the mushrooms right before serving.

Cut pastry to fit, brush with oil, sprinkle pimentón.

Turkey Pot Pie with store-bought pastry discs. Prepare your favorite filling for pot pie—diced turkey or chicken, mushrooms, carrots, etc, in sauce/gravy made with dry Sherry. Place the hot filling in an oven casserole. Top with discs of pastry dough. Cut the rounds to fit the casserole, as needed. Brush the dough with olive oil, sprinkle with smoked pimentón and sesame seeds. Bake the pot pie in a preheated 400ºF oven, 15 minutes. If pastry is not browned, place under the broiler until lightly golden. 

Apple pie with store-bought pastry discs. Prepare your favorite apple pie filling. (I used sliced apples with honey, cinnamon, cloves, a spoonful of cornstarch.) As for the preceding pot pie, top with pastry discs cut up to fit the pie pan. Brush the top of the pastry with beaten egg and sprinkle with granulated sugar. Bake in preheated 375ºF oven 18-20 minutes.

More recipes for turnovers (empanadillas), including how to make your own pastry dough: 

Dough for Empanadillas I, II and III.

Fried Turnovers with Pumpkin Filling.

Turnovers with Sweet Potato Jam.

More recipes with dried fruits:

Apricot-Almond Bars.

Fig Pudding with Sherry Dessert Sauce.

My Mother's Date Bars.

Fig Brownies with Olive Oil.

Fig Roll (Pan de Higos).