Cheese Pastries

This past week has been so busy that unfortunately it has not included a lot of time for cooking. Instead, I was visiting Boston because Alyssa graduated over the past weekend. She is officially a college graduate! Yay!

After two weeks of poor eating habits due to studying, and then a long weekend in Boston spent eating at restaurants each meal, I have been craving some home cooked food. I decided to start with one of my favorite recipes: cheese pastries. I have made these pastries many times for different groups of people and I haven't encountered a person who hasn't liked them.

The idea of these pastries came from hatchipuri, a Georgian cheese bread, that I first tried when visiting Russia. They are also similar to a borek that can be found in Israel, Turkey, and other Mediterranean countries. But whatever you call them they taste delicious.

I love using Pepperidge Farm puff pastry dough, it is do easy to use and very versatile. You can find it in the freezer section of most grocery stores.

Makes 12 pieces

1 box of Pepperidge Farm puff pastry
2 cups of crumbled feta cheese
1/2 teaspoon of black pepper
2 eggs

1. Start by defrosting the dough for about 30 minutes, I like to work with it before it gets too soft. Preheat the oven to 375° F and line a large baking tray with aluminum foil or parchment paper.

2. Mix together the feta cheese, egg, and pepper in a large bowl.

3. The box contains two sheets of dough. Cut the dough into 12 pieces, 3 pieces along the fold and then 4 more even pieces and then do the same for the other sheet.

4. Lay all 12 pieces on the baking tray and place a large spoon of the cheese mixture in the middle.

5. Lay a piece of dough on top of the cheese and pinch the edges together until the dough forms a closed pastry.

6. Beat an egg in a mixing bowl. Use a pastry brush to coat the top of each pastry with egg.

7. Bake for 30-40 minutes until the dough rises and the tops are golden brown.

Enjoy

~R