Salmon and Ricotta Turnovers

The kids love puff pastry. Whenever we use it there are always comments about how it has gotten all puffy and golden in the oven. I love the way food transforms when you cook it and how children describe it and use it as  a way to improve their language and make connections with the outside world. For example, we were talking about puff pastry and Seb mentioned Puffer Fish and how they get bigger too!

The results from this recipe were not all perfect, but they were a very good effort from a five year old and all the kids ate them for dinner very happily for two nights. How often does that happen?! A child willing to eat the same thing for dinner (with different accompaniments) two nights in a row without complaint and not a single child muttered anything about not liking them. We had two nights of clear plates! Woop woop! It is a victory that I am celebrating with a happy little dance which I am very glad you can’t see! But call me crazy, I am reluctant to try these again too soon as I don’t want them to decide they don’t like them and taint my victory!

We decided to fill our turnovers with a salmon and ricotta mixture with lemon juice, rosemary (yup you guessed it, from the garden) and some light seasoning. You could put any flavour combination you like in and I think over the summer we may well try these with mascarpone, gammon, pea and mint or even with some sweet fillings and sprinkled with sugar (I am dreaming of summer fruits or rhubarb and orange, but with the boys not particularly liking cooked fruit I am guessing Nutella and peanut butter would be more likely!).

Ingredients

To make 12 turnovers using an 11cm diameter round cutter

• 500g puff pastry (we used a block and Seb and I rolled it out – he needed a bit of help to get it started)
• 1 tin of boneless and skinless salmon
• 130g ricotta
• Juice and zest of 1 lemon
• 1tsp chopped rosemary
• Seasoning
• Beaten egg

Method

1. Mix the salmon, ricotta, lemon zest and juice, rosemary and seasoning in a bowl and put in the fridge while you roll out the pastry. Seb had some help with the zesting, but was really determined to have a go.
2. Roll the puff pastry very thin on a floured surface (if it is already rolled then you can bypass this step or roll it a little bit to make it thinner).
3. Take the round cutter and cut out 12 circles (or as many as your pastry will make). You may have to consolidate the pastry and reroll it to use it all.
4. Get the salmon mixture and place 1/2tbsp of the mixture on one side of each circle. If you overfill them, they may be difficult to close and filling may leak out. We did have this issue with some of ours, but it obviously doesn’t affect the taste.
5. Crack the egg and beat it. Brush the egg around the edge of each circle to help it stick together.
6. Fold over the puff pastry to create semi-circles and then seal using a fork. Brush them with the remaining egg and then refrigerate for 30 minutes before cooking them in an oven which has been preheated to 180°c fan for 30-35 minutes until all golden.

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