Spinach and Kale Turnovers - Cooking Light J/F 2007

This recipe was a delight. I was shocked by both how easy the filling came together, and how tasty it was when coupled with my homemade pizza dough. The recipe calls for canned pizza dough, but when you use my favorite that mixes up inside of a half hour everything just tastes that much better.

I actually made this recipe for guests on Saturday. The turnover halves pictured are from the two (out of nine!) that were left. I expected people to hear the words spinach and kale and run away screaming, but our guests loved the taste and scarfed them up with gay abandon. Which always makes for a happy hostess. This will definitely be a repeated recipe, as it goes so nicely with a bowl of soup which is how I enjoyed my leftover turnover today. The soup was nothing special, just something I created to use up some veggies left lying around the house. Handful of spinach, half a cup of cannellini beans, some green beans, a can of diced tomatoes, vegetable broth, garlic and onions - basically an everything but the kitchen sink kind of soup.

Spinach and Kale Turnovers
Cooking Light - January/February 2007
Yield - 8 (I got 9)

2 tsp olive oil
1/2 cup of onion chopped
1 garlic clove (I used 2)
1 small bunch of kale chopped (3 cups)
1 (6oz) package of fresh baby spinach
black pepper to taste
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp ground nutmeg
3 oz crumbled feta cheese
11 oz can of refrigerated pizza dough (I made my own)
2 tablespoons of grated parmesan cheese
cooking spray

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Heat oil in large skillet. Add onion and and saute for ten minutes until browned. Add garlic, and cook for one minute or until fragrant. Add kale and spinach and saute till kale is tender (approximately 8 minutes). Stir in pepper, salt and nutmeg. Remove from heat and let cool slightly. Stir in feta.

Separate dough in to 8 pieces that are rolled out in 5-6 inch disks. Spoon 1/3 cup of mixture on each circle, leaving 1/2 inch border. Fold dough over kale mixture until edges almost meet. Bring bottom edge of dough over top edge and crimp edges together to enclose.

Place turnovers on sprayed baking sheet. Lightly coat turnovers with spray and sprinkle with parmesan. Bake for 18 minutes or untill golden brown.


And, in case anyone needs it again, here's my favorite pizza dough recipe. This is the dough I used to make the turnovers.

Whole Wheat Pizza Dough
Eating Well

3/4 cup whole-wheat flour
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 package quick-rising yeast (2 1/4 teaspoons), such as Fleischmann's RapidRise
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon sugar
1/2-2/3 cup hot water (120-130°F)
2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil

1. Combine whole-wheat flour, all-purpose flour, yeast, salt and sugar in a food processor; pulse to mix. Combine hot water and oil in a measuring cup. With the motor running, gradually pour in enough of the hot liquid until the mixture forms a sticky ball. The dough should be quite soft. If it seems dry, add 1 to 2 tablespoons warm water; if too sticky, add 1 to 2 tablespoons flour. Process until the dough forms a ball, then process for 1 minute to knead.

2. Transfer the dough to a lightly floured surface. Coat a sheet of plastic wrap with cooking spray and place it, sprayed-side down, over the dough. Let the dough rest for 10 to 20 minutes before rolling.

makes 12 oz dough, enough for one 12-inch pizza or two 10-inch pizzas