I've been making this particular pastry since I was 14 years old and there's a good reason why. This is one of the most tender and flaky butter pastry recipes I have ever tried and the secret is the sour cream that is used to bring the dough together and give the pastry an exceptionally rich taste.
I use this pastry in savory dishes as well and it is fantastic for making pastry wrapped salmon, chicken and seafood dishes. In this recipe, I have used it along with some homemade lemon curd to make these simple but amazing lemon turnovers which I again shared with the folks at my office. I can't count how many post-Christmas diets that I have shattered there in the last few weeks...but they seem to be quite forgiving so far. ;)
Lemon Curd
In a mall saucepan combine:
6 lightly beaten egg yolks
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
zest of two lemons, finely minced
1/2 cup butter cut into small pieces
Cook slowly over medium low heat for about 10 minutes stirring constantly until the mixture thickens enough to coat the back of a wooden spoon. Remove from heat and stir in the butter a few pieces at a time until completely smooth. Cover with plastic wrap and chill completely in the fridge.
Sour Cream Pastry
3 cups all purpose flour
2 cups very cold butter
1 tsp salt
1 cup sour cream
Cut butter into the flour and salt with a food processor or pastry blender until mixture resembles a coarse meal. Small pieces of butter should still be visible in the mix. Stir in the sour cream to form a dough. Form dough into two rectangles, wrap in plastic and rest in the fridge for 20 minutes.
Roll out dough to about 1/4 inch thickness and cut into 4 inch squares. Spoon a heaping teaspoon of lemon curd into the center of each pastry square and fold over. Press the edges down firmly with the tips of your fingers to seal. Place the turnovers on a parchment lined baking sheet.
2 cups very cold butter
1 tsp salt
1 cup sour cream
Cut butter into the flour and salt with a food processor or pastry blender until mixture resembles a coarse meal. Small pieces of butter should still be visible in the mix. Stir in the sour cream to form a dough. Form dough into two rectangles, wrap in plastic and rest in the fridge for 20 minutes.
Roll out dough to about 1/4 inch thickness and cut into 4 inch squares. Spoon a heaping teaspoon of lemon curd into the center of each pastry square and fold over. Press the edges down firmly with the tips of your fingers to seal. Place the turnovers on a parchment lined baking sheet.
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F and bake for 20-25 minutes until light golden brown. Cool for at least 20 minutes before serving.
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