Cheese Pastries Vegetarian Epicure Recipes

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.
• Stir together the flour, salt, paprika and pepper. Put in food processor, add butter and process until mixture resembles coarse meal.
• Add and process with both grated cheeses.
• Sprinkle cream over mixture and process until you have a smooth dough. (You may knead it by hand a bit.)
• Put glob on waxed paper, press to form a disk, wrap in the waxed paper and chill for about an hour.
• Roll the dough out on a lightly floured pastry cloth, until it is a thickness of a little less than ¼ inch.
• Cut into small or medium circles or strips.
• Arrange them on ungreased cookie sheets; then brush with the beaten egg/water mixture.
• Bake in preheated 325 degrees F oven for 12-14 minutes. (Or until they are puffed and slightly brown on top.).

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• Make the dough: mix flour, salt and baking powder together in a medium size mixing bowl. Cut in butter. Stir in egg, vinegar and 1/2 cup water. Continue stirring until dough is moist enough to be formed into a ball (add more water if necessary). Form the dough into a large ball.
• Make the filling: bring a pot of 3 cups water to boil, add lentils and continue to boil for 30 to 45 minutes; until lentils are tender. Watch the lentils and add water if necessary.
• Wrap the potatoes in aluminum foil and bake them for 30 minutes in the preheated oven. When the potatoes have cooled cut them into small pieces and mix them with the lentils.
• In a frying pan saute onions with oil. Stir the onions into the potato-lentil mixture; season with salt and stir.
• Divide the dough into 6 - 8-inch circles. Lay the circles on a flat, floured surface. Place one cup of filling into the center of each circle. Fold the dough around the filling; seal the edges and arrange the pasties on an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake for one hour in the preheated oven.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 425°F with rack in middle.
• Beat egg with a fork, then put 1 1/2 tablespoons egg in a small bowl with water (1/2 tablespoon) and lightly beat to make egg wash.
• Put remaining beaten egg in a food processor with cream cheese, sugar, and vanilla and purée until smooth. Transfer to a small bowl.
• Purée guava preserves with lemon juice in cleaned food processor until smooth.
• Put a baking sheet in oven to preheat 5 minutes while you prepare pastry.
• Roll out pastry on a floured work surface with a floured rolling pin into an 11- by 9 1/2-inch rectangle. Cut rectangle in half crosswise.
• Transfer 1 piece of pastry to a sheet of foil. Spread cream cheese mixture in a 3 1/2-inch-wide strip down middle of pastry, leaving 1-inch borders on all sides. Dollop 2 rows of preserves lengthwise on top of cheese mixture, about 1 inch apart.
• Fold remaining piece of pastry in half lengthwise and put folded edge nearest you. Leaving a 1-inch border on sides and top of pastry, cut 1 1/2-inch-long slits every 1/2 inch through folded edge to top border.
• Brush some of egg wash around filling. Unfold cut pastry and lay over filling. Lightly press edges to seal and brush top of dough with some egg wash. Bake on foil on hot baking sheet until puffed and golden-brown, 25 to 30 minutes. Transfer pastry to a rack to cool completely.

Steps:

• Arrange racks in upper and lower thirds of oven; preheat to 400°F. Line 2 rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper.
• Stir vinegar, honey, red pepper flakes, salt, pepper, and 1 cup water in a medium pot. Add figs and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, bring to a simmer, and cook, stirring occasionally, until figs are softened and liquid has almost evaporated and is a syrupy consistency, 7-10 minutes. Transfer figs to a plate; let cool.
• Beat egg with 1 Tbsp. water in a small bowl. If using a 14-ounce package with 1 sheet of pastry, roll pastry to an 18x12" rectangle on a lightly floured surface. If using a 17-ounce package with 2 sheets of pastry, roll each sheet to a 12x9" rectangle. Cut pastry along the 12" side into 12 (1-inch-wide) strips. Cut each strip crosswise into pieces about 4 1/2" long. You should have 48 (4 1/2x1") strips pastry.
• Scoop a heaping 1/2 tsp. cheese and press into cut side of 1 fig half. Place fig half in the center of 1 pastry strip. Brush 1 end of pastry with egg wash and roll to enclose. Transfer seam side down to prepared sheet. Repeat with remaining cheese, figs, and pastry. Brush top of each pastry with egg wash and sprinkle with seeds, if using. Bake pastries, rotating and switching sheets top to bottom halfway through, until golden brown and puffed, 15-18 minutes.
• Do Ahead
• Figs can be cooked 2 days ahead; cover and chill.