En Croute is a food that has been wrapped in pastry dough and then baked in the oven. Traditionally, the type of pastry used for making Pâté en Croute is a simple straight pastry dough called pâte à pâté, or pâté pastry. But today, puff pastry is frequently used for most en croute recipes.

Our lovely Monkey Queen of Don’t Make Me Call My Flying Monkeys, was our May Daring Cooks’ hostess and she challenged us to dive into the world of en Croute! We were encouraged to make Beef Wellington, Stuffed Mushroom en Croute and to bring our kids into the challenge by encouraging them to create their own en Croute recipes! We were allowed to use our favorite foods and experiment with the types of bread/pastries to wrap up the food  of choice.

Food wrapped in pastry or bread is very popular in the middle east. I have already shared my spinach pastry triangles and my  cheese pastry “fatayer jebneh” but since this was a daring cooks challenge,I had plans to do something with chickens and mushrooms or fish but as usual time was not on my side this month and I ended up taking the easy (but still yummy) way out. I decided to use up some of my homemade string cheese for my food of choice. I love how this cheese melts perfectly when heated. Add a little parsley for refreshment and flavor and you have one of my favorite cheese/herb combos. So why not wrap it with some buttery puff pastry? I wish I had some homemade puff pastry as I am sure it would have taken these cheese turn overs into the next level but I was out and since we agreed we were going to take the easy way, store bought puff pastry did the job.

These buttery, golden and slightly crunchy triangles go by many names.Cheese turn overs, easy samosa or cheese en croute. No matter what you decide to call them, they are quick and easy to prepare making them a great option when you have guests coming on short notice. Paired with a cup of tea and a little salad they make for a wonderful meal, one that does not require you to spend half the day in the kitchen. What I like the most about recipes like this one is that they are easy enough for kids to help with, I had fun making these with my 4 year old son, he did the egg wash and helped with sealing the triangles with a fork.

One year ago: Alcohol free beef bourguignon…daring cooks May 2012

Two years ago: Gumbo…let the good times roll

Cheese en croute

Puff pastry squares

For the filling

2 cups grated string cheese (you can use paneer, feta, halloumi or cheddar here too)

1/4 cup chopped parsley leaves

For the egg wash

1 egg

1 teaspoon vinegar

Instructions

Beat the egg with the vinegar, this will be your egg wash.

Mix the grated cheese with the parsley

I used pre-cut puff pastry squares but you can use a sheet of puff pastry and roll it out thinly and then cut it  into squares

Brush the tops with egg wash

Place a heaped tablespoon of the filling in the center of each square

Fold on corner onto the one across from it diagonally

Use a fork to seal the edges

Brush each turnover with egg wash.

Put each turnover onto a baking sheet lined with parchment and bake for 15- 20 minutes at 425F/220C/Gas mark 6 or until the turniovers are golden brown.

Serve warm, (the filling inside may be a bit hot).

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Spinach pastry triangle (Fatayer sabanekh )

Cheese pastry “fatayer jebneh”